MONITORING OF GLOBAL IONOSPHERIC IRREGULARITIES USING THE WORLDWIDE GPS NETWORK

A prototype system has been developed to monitor the instantaneous glo bal distribution of ionospheric irregularities, using the worldwide ne twork of Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers. Case studies in th is paper indicate that GPS receiver loss of lock of signal tracking ma y be associated with strong phase fluctuations. It is shown that a net work-based GPS monitoring system will enable us to study the generatio n and evolution of ionospheric :irregularities continuously around the globe under various solar and geophysical conditions, which is partic ularly suitable for studies of ionospheric storms, and for space weath er research and applications.