The space weather effect of the December 1, 2023 geomagnetic storm on GNSS PPP accuracy

This study aims to investigate the large-scale ionospheric scintillation events that occurred during the magnetic storm on December 1, 2023. Using GNSS network data and ionospheric scintillation data over China, the spatial-temporal evolution of ionospheric irregularities and scintillation are provided, and the impact of these scintillations on GNSS signal and positioning accuracy are studied further, Results show that during magnetic storms, large-scale ionospheric irregularities appear in the China sector, which extend from low to mid-latitudes. When these irregularities structures appear over the GNSS stations, the occurrence of the loss of lock of GNSS signals significantly increases, and their positioning accuracy decreases. The spatiotemporal distribution of loss of lock and the decrease of positioning accuracy shows good consistency, but there are noticeable differences compared to the spatiotemporal distribution of the irregularities. In the mid-latitudes, the irregularities almost do not cause signal loss or decrease in positioning accuracy.