Comparison of the Occurrence Morphology of Phase Scintillation of GPS and Beidou Signals at Zhongshan Station, Antarctica

Abstract

AbstractThe characteristics of phase scintillation (represented by the phase scintillation indices, σφ) from GPS and Beidou are statistically analyzed using a ground‐based receiver at Zhongshan Station, Antarctica, from 2020 to 2022 for the first time. The phase scintillation of the GPS and Beidou signals present a similar pattern of occurrence. The statistical results on the occurrence morphology of phase scintillation show that the phase scintillation predominately occurs in the magnetic pre‐noon and pre‐midnight sectors. Moreover, phase scintillation performs a dependence on solar and geomagnetic activities. Furthermore, the phase scintillation also gives a seasonal variation with the maximum occurrence happened at the autumn and the minimum occurrence during the summer. Consequently, these results improve understanding of the morphological characteristics of the phase fluctuations in the less studied Antarctic region. The study also demonstrates the use of the combined data set to improve the coverage in the Antarctic region.