An Observational Review on influence of Intense Geomagnetic Storm on Positional Accuracy of NavIC/IRNSS System

The positional accuracy of Navigation with the Indian Constellation (NavIC)/Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) in the low latitudes of the Indian region during the intense geomagnetic storm of 8 September 2017 being reported first time. The existence of an intense geomagnetic storm is verified with several geomagnetic indices and interplanetary field parameters. The Total Electron Content (TEC) maps from the International GNSS Service (IGS) data and the thermosphere O/N2 ratio maps from the Global Ultra Violet Imager (GUVI) are also used in the study. The one week of data (3\textendash9 September 2017) are collected based on equatorial region (Trivandrum) and Equatorial Ionization Anomaly (EIA) region (e.g. Surat, Bombay, Hyderabad and Gandhinagar), from India, using the Accord NavIC/IRNSS dual-frequency (L5 and S-band) receivers. For the intense storm day, a comparative study is being carried out for TEC, ionospheric delay and positional accuracy for L5 band. The observations perceive the positive impact in the equatorial region while the negative impact for EIA region, with reference to quiet days of the observed week. The average \~70\% and further \~25\% NavIC/IRNSS system positional accuracy is improved by applying ionospheric correction and augmenting NavIC/IRNSS with GPS system respectively. This study is very much important in satellite-based navigation application for Precise Point Positioning (PPP).