• Journal of Advanced Navigation Technology
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.271-278
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• 2018

For ionospheric correction of low earth orbiter (LEO) satellites using single frequency global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver, ionospheric scale factor should be applied to the ground-based ionosphere model. The ionospheric scale factor can be calculated by using a NeQuick model, which provides a three-dimensional ionospheric distribution. In this study, the ionospheric scale factor is calculated by using NeQuick G model during 2015, and it is compared with the scale factor computed from the combination of LEO satellite measurements and international GNSS service (IGS) global ionosphere map (GIM). The accuracy of the ionospheric delay calculated by the NeQuick G model and IGS GIM with NeQuick G scale factor is analyzed. In addition, ionospheric delay errors calculated by the NeQuick G model and IGS GIM with the NeQuick G scale factor are compared. The ionospheric delay error variations along to latitude and solar activity are also analyzed. The mean ionospheric scale factor from the NeQuick G model is 0.269 in 2015. The ionospheric delay error of IGS GIM with NeQuick G scale factor is 23.7% less than that of NeQuick G model.

• Journal of Positioning, Navigation, and Timing
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.363-369
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• 2021

Since the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signal received from the low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite is only affected by the upper ionosphere, the magnitude of the ionospheric delay of Global Positioning System (GPS) signal received from ground user is different. Therefore, the ground-based two-dimensional ionospheric model cannot be applied to LEO satellites. The NeQuick model used in Galileo provides the ionospheric delay according to the user's altitude, so it can be used in the ionospheric model of the LEO satellites. However, the NeQuick model is not suitable for space receivers because of the high computational cost. A simplified NeQuick model with reduced computing time was recently presented. In this study, the computing time of the NeQuick model and the simplified NeQuick model was analyzed based on the GPS Klobuchar model. The NeQuick and simplified NeQuick model were applied to the GNSS data from GRACE-B, Swarm-C, and GOCE satellites to analyze the performance of the ionospheric correction and positioning. The difference in computing time between the NeQuick and simplified NeQuick model was up to 90%, but the difference in ionospheric accuracy was not as large as within 4.5%.

• Journal of Positioning, Navigation, and Timing
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.63-73
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• 2024

NeQuick G is the ionosphere model utilized by Galileo single-frequency users to estimate the ionospheric delay on each user-satellite link. The model is characterized by the effective ionization level (Az) index, determined by a modified dip latitude (MODIP) and broadcast coefficients derived from daily global space weather observations. However, globally fitted Az coefficients may not accurately represent ionosphere within local area. This study introduces a method for regional ionospheric modeling that searches for locally optimized Az coefficients. This approach involves fitting TEC output from NeQuick G to TEC data collected from GNSS stations around Korea under various ionospheric conditions including different seasons and both low and high solar activity phases. The optimized Az coefficients enable calculation of the Az index at any position within a region of interest, accounting for the spatial variability of the Az index in a polynomial function of MODIP. The results reveal reduced TEC estimation errors, particularly during high solar activity, with a maximum reduction in the RMS error by 85.95%. This indicates that the proposed method for NeQuick G can effectively model various ionospheric conditions in local areas, offering potential applications in GNSS performance analyses for local areas by generating various ionospheric scenarios.

• Journal of Positioning, Navigation, and Timing
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.113-119
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• 2023

Satellite navigation systems, with the exception of the GLObal NAvigation Satellite System (GLONASS), adopt ionosphere models and provide ionospheric coefficients to single-frequency users via navigation messages to correct ionospheric delay, the main source of positioning errors. A Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) mostly has its own ionospheric models: the Klobuchar model for Global Positioning System (GPS), the NeQuick-G model for Galileo, and the BeiDou Global Ionospheric delay correction Model (BDGIM) for BeiDou satellite navigation System (BDS)-3. On the other hand, a Regional Navigation Satellite System (RNSS) such as the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) and BDS-2 uses the Klobuchar Model rather than developing a new model. QZSS provides its own coefficients that are customized for its service area while BDS-2 slightly modifies the Klobuchar model to improve accuracy in the Asia-Pacific region. In addition, BDS broadcasts multiple ionospheric parameters depending on the satellites, unlike other systems. In this paper, we analyzed the different ionospheric models of GPS, QZSS, and BDS in Korea. The ionospheric models of QZSS and BDS-2, which are based in Asia, reduced error by at least 25.6% compared to GPS. However, QZSS was less accurate than GPS during geomagnetic storms or at low latitude. The accuracy of the models according to the BDS satellite orbit was also analyzed. The BDS-2 ionospheric model showed an error reduction of more than 5.9% when using GEO coefficients, while in BDS-3, the difference between satellites was within 0.01 m.