LAUSR

Abstract Errors induced by the ionosphere on global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) signal propagation significantly affect the positioning calculation done by ground receivers. These ionospheric errors may end up reaching tens of meters in the final positioning calculation. In this study, the ionospheric range error (IRE) was monitored over the local ionosphere of BAHR, Bahrain (26.209N, 50.608E) during the period of the 23rd solar cycle. IRE values were obtained through observation data derived from RINEX files and compared with NeQuick 2 (NQ2) model calculations. It was found that, for the region of study, NQ2 overestimated the total electron content (TEC) values as compared to observation data, resulting in higher IRE values of up to 12 m. However, IRE derived using GNSS observations and NQ2 follow similar trends over the course of the solar cycle. IRE values were also compared to the smoothed sunspot number (SSN) and F10.7 indexes which resulted in significant correlation between the seasonal calculation of IRE and solar activity. Throughout the 23rd solar cycle, the highest IRE values were found during the equinoxes and the lowest during solstices. The largest IRE value was observed in the vernal equinox of 2000 (19.13 m), while the lowest IRE value was observed in the winter solstice of 1998 (0.276 m).