Solar Activity and the effect on positioning systems

Date/Time:

13 Mar 2012
10:00-10:30

Location:

South Galleries

Mr Sebastian Schäfer, Norwegian Mapping Authority

Seminar Details
The ongoing increase of solar activity has a major impact on the performance of global satellite navigation and positioning systems. The main threat is a degraded signal quality due to disturbances in the atmosphere and ionosphere of the Earth. This paper summarizes the solar processes influencing the near-earth space and reviews their general impact on navigation and positioning systems. Furthermore, an example case study, based on data from the Real-Time-Ionosphere-Monitor (RTIM) of the Norwegian Mapping Authority, will be presented illustrating the correlation between the increased solar activity and the measured positioning errors of an RTK network.