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Electron density irregularities in the ionosphere modify the phase and amplitude of trans-ionospheric radio signals. We aim to characterize the spectral and morphological features of E- and F-region ionospheric irregularities likely to produce these fluctuations or "scintillations". To characterize them, we use a three-dimensional radio wave propagation model—"Satellite-beacon Ionospheric scintillation Global Model of upper Atmosphere" (SIGMA), along with the scintillation measurements observed by a cluster of six Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers called Scintillation Auroral GPS Array (SAGA) at Poker Flat, AK. An inverse method is used to derive the parameters that describe the irregularities by estimating the best fit of model outputs to GPS observations. We analyze in detail one E-region and two F-region events during geomagnetically active times and determine the E- and F-region irregularity characteristics using two different spectral models as input to SIGMA. Our results from the spectral analysis show that the E-region irregularities are more elongated along the magnetic field lines with rod-shaped structures, while the F-region irregularities have wing-like structures with irregularities extending both along and across the magnetic field lines. We also found that the spectral index of the E-region event is less than the spectral index of the F-region events. Additionally, the spectral slope on the ground at higher frequencies is less than the spectral slope at irregularity height. This study describes distinctive morphological and spectral features of irregularities at E- and F-regions for a handful of cases performed using a full 3D propagation model coupled with GPS observations and inversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work develops a method by which a kilometer-spaced array of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) scintillation receivers can be used to estimate the ionospheric irregularity layer height and thickness and associated uncertainties on those estimates. Spectra of filtered signal power and phase data are used to estimate these quantities by comparing the observed ratio of the log of the power spectrum to the phase spectrum with the Rytov weak scatter theoretical ratio. A Monte Carlo simulation of noise on the input signal and the irregularity drift velocity is used to quantify the error in estimates of height and thickness. The method is tested using data from the Scintillation Auroral Global Positioning System (GPS) Array (SAGA) sited in the auroral zone at Poker Flat Research Range, Alaska. For the 30-min scintillation period studied, the technique identifies ionospheric scattering from a thick F layer, which correlates well with on-site incoherent scatter radar measurements of peak electron density, for an event previously identified in the literature as likely due to F layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]