Understanding Ionospheric Disturbances: Impacts on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) Functionality During Solar Cycles

The ionosphere is a critical component of Earth’s upper atmosphere, and its behavior is significantly influenced by solar activity. With the 25th solar activity cycle nearing its peak years, ionospheric anomalies such as scintillation, disturbances, and storms are anticipated to become more prevalent. These anomalies are frequently caused by space weather events, including solar wind, solar flares, coronal mass ejections, and geomagnetic storms, all of which can disrupt ionospheric conditions. The ionosphere fundamentally affects the performance of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), and these anomalies have a broad global impact. While monitoring GNSS performance is a primary concern within the GNSS community, there is still much to learn about maintaining and improving GNSS standards and precise positioning during current and future solar activity peaks.

This Research Topic aims to share knowledge and devise strategies to mitigate the impacts of the ionosphere on GNSS, focusing particularly on broadcast ionospheric models and the precision of positioning. The primary objective is to enhance the understanding of how solar activity influences GNSS performance, and to explore effective methods to counteract these effects. This includes investigating advanced GNSS ionospheric sounding and data processing techniques, as well as developing new methods for monitoring ionospheric disturbances using GNSS technology.

To gather further insights in how solar activity impacts GNSS ionospheric models and positioning, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

• Advanced GNSS ionospheric sounding and data processing.
• Monitoring ionospheric disturbances using GNSS techniques.
• Effects of solar activity on GNSS broadcast ionospheric models.
• Forecasting severe space weather events.
• Ionospheric disturbances from solar wind, solar flares, and coronal mass ejections.
• Impacts of ionospheric anomalies on GNSS standard and precise positioning.
• Interdisciplinary research and new applications in space weather, ionospheric studies, and GNSS.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Technology and Code

Keywords: GNSS, severe space weather event forecasting, ionospheric modelling and monitoring, ionospheric disturbances, ionospheric total electron content, ionospheric density, ionospheric storm, travelling ionospheric disturbances.

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.