EGNOS Performance during Different Space Weather Conditions Over ECAC Region

Regional Total Electron Content (TEC) Maps proffer better mitigation effects in ionospheric models which are needed to resolve ionospheric TEC gradient errors associated with space-based technologies such as Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and Space-Based Augmentation Systems (SBAS). EGNOS (European Geostationary Navigation Overlay System) is a European SBAS system that provides integrity, accuracy, continuity and availability to critical GNSS applications like aviation and others over ECAC (European Civil Aviation Conference) area. The EGNOS Ionospheric model is built with the concept of the ordinary Planar fit technique. This paper focuses on modified Planar fit, ordinary Kriging and modified Kriging techniques to validate the EGNOS algorithm during different geophysical (geomagnetically quiet and disturbed) conditions. The structure of EGNOS was strictly adhered to during the study and only publicly available GNSS ground-based stations over the ECAC area are engaged in the study. The preliminary results obtained show that adapting modified Planar fit and Kriging techniques could improve the EGNOS services over the ECAC area, most especially the northern part near the high latitudes and the southern part near the low latitude regions.