Ionospheric scintillation of GPS microwave signals in Singapore

This paper presents the ionospheric scintillation of GPS microwave signals in Singapore. The GPS receiver is located at the west of Singapore having the geographic coordinate 1.34°N, 103.68°E and geomagnetic coordinate 8.40°S, 176.18°E. The data presented is obtained during the period from January 2013 to December 2013. Seasonally, it is found that amplitude scintillation occurs mostly during equinox months of April and September. Diurnally, these scintillation events occur mostly around local time of 8 p.m. to 12 a.m, which is during the post sunset period. Furthermore, fluctuations in total electron content (TEC) are observed during these periods, which indicate presence of plasma bubble irregularities. Evidently, both signal intensity and the carrier phase of the GPS signal exhibit fluctuations during this period, which signifies propagation through the plasma bubble irregularities of the ionosphere layer.