Circular Analysis of Gnss Positioning Error for Short-Term Rapidly Developing Ionospheric Storm Sub-Classification

In the development of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT), short-lived, fast-growing ionospheric storms (lasting up to three days) were assumed to constitute a single, uniform class of space weather events. To challenge this premise, here is presented a circular analysis of single-frequency commercial-grade Global Positioning System (GPS) horizontal positioning errors in the mid-latitude region during four observed storms (one in 2015 and three in 2017), revealing significant heterogeneity. Maximum positioning errors reached 7.495 m in March 2015, but peaked at 4.261 m, 4.387 m, and 3.948 m during storms in May, early September, and late September 2017, respectively. By demonstrating that short-duration, fast-growing storms require subclassification, in this study is offered a new perspective on disturbances.