Power-law distribution of rapid ionosphere electron content fluctuations via GNSS measurements

Abstract

The ionosphere is a dynamic region of the Earth’s upper atmosphere that exhibits various fluctuations in electron density. These fluctuations can be estimated using measurements from the global navigation satellite system (GNSS). In this article, our focus is on characterizing the probability distribution of total electron content (TEC) fluctuations and their temporal duration. The findings of this study, conducted over half a solar cycle and involving more than 100 stations distributed worldwide, demonstrate that the distribution of rapid ionosphere electron content fluctuations follows a power-law behavior, both in amplitude and duration. This explains the occurrence of occasional extreme values of amplitude and duration. In addition, despite significant differences in space weather conditions during the solar cycle, including geomagnetic storms, the power-law distributions of both the rate of change in TEC index amplitude and duration of bursts of activity, exhibit the same shape parameter ( α ), which is similar to the values observed during less active periods. Another finding is the statistical independence of amplitude and duration. The observed power-law distribution and its temporal and spatial dependencies provide practical insights for developing robust models and algorithms for ionospheric impact mitigation in GNSS positioning and navigation systems. Moreover, these findings have implications for space weather monitoring and forecasting, contributing to the assessment of ionospheric disturbances and for a wide range of technological systems, including telecommunication networks among GNSS.