A preliminary study of Amplitude and Phase scintillation over the Indian permanent scientific GPS station to understand L1 signal propagation through the ionosphere

The irregular electron density structure in an ionospheric layer causes fluctuation in Amplitude and Phase of the trans-ionospheric L1 signal from GPS posing a major challenge to the Quality of Service. The variation of electron density structure in an Ionospheric layer causes the fluctuation of the trans-ionospheric radio wave signals over the sub-auroral ionospheric region. The GPS data from the Indian Permanent Scientific base "Maitri" (Geog70°76"S, 11°74"E) which is situated in Antarctica was considered for this study. The investigation shows significant fading of GPS signal due to such ionospheric irregular electron density structures.