Artificially Induced Phase Scintillation Observed From GLONASS Signals

The phase scintillation index is a commonly used metric in the remote sensing of ionospheric irregularities. In this work, we analyze the phase scintillation index observed from the GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and BeiDou satellite constellations, for a continuous period of three years. Our analysis reveals an elevated level of L1 phase scintillation observed from most GLONASS satellites, and non of the other GNSS constellations during the same period. This is of particular interest as the abnormality was observed during a solar minimum period, and from satellites labeled as healthy. Furthermore, the observations made were verified with data from three other receivers in different regions. This study was conducted to highlight these artificially induced phase scintillations from GLONASS satellites so that future studies can take them into considerations, especially during periods of heightened geomagnetic activity. Additionally, these artificially induced phase scintillations may result in loss of phase lock, as well as reduced positioning accuracy, which may have serious effects on the reliability and integrity of the GLONASS positioning service.