Name
Weighted Dilution of Precision Estimation for GNSS Positioning Under Ionospheric Scintillation at Canadian High Latitudes
Date & Time
Wednesday, May 27, 2026, 2:00 PM - 2:15 PM
Description

Reliable GNSS positioning is critical for aviation and marine navigation, as well as in industries such as surveying, construction, and mining. As signals propagate through the ionosphere, irregularities in electron density can induce rapid fluctuations in amplitude and carrier phase, collectively referred to as scintillation. Scintillation can degrade the accuracy of both pseudorange and carrier-phase measurements and, when sufficiently intense, disrupt receiver tracking loops, causing cycle slips and loss of lock. In Canada, the effects of scintillation dominate at high latitudes, making the Arctic a region where GNSS availability can be particularly compromised. While scintillation climatology and characterization have been widely investigated, comparatively little attention has been given to its direct impact on GNSS positioning performance. This paper introduces an approach to evaluate how scintillation influences position solution quality through its effect on satellite availability. Data from the Canadian High Arctic Ionospheric Network are used to construct a scintillation sky map, which is updated at the cadence of phase observations to capture its spatial and temporal variability across the region. This map is then used to estimate the level of scintillation affecting signals received by a user, which in turn is incorporated into a weighted Geometric Dilution of Precision (GDOP) estimate. A consistent increase in correlation between 3D position residuals and the weighted GDOP compared to the standard GDOP demonstrates the potential of this approach and the value in expressing scintillation impact in terms of satellite availability.

Location Name
McCain 2017
Full Address
Dalhousie University
Halifax NS
Canada
Session Type
Oral Presentation
Abstract ID
30
Speaker Organization
University of New Brunswick
Session Name
G3
Co-authors
Richard B. Langley, University of New Brunswick
Presenting Author
Sophie LeGresley, University of New Brunswick