Ionosphere

The ionosphere is the ionized part of the Earth’s upper atmosphere, extending roughly from 60 km to 1,000 km altitude, where solar radiation ionizes atmospheric particles, creating free electrons and ions. This layer plays a crucial role in the propagation of radio waves between satellites and the Earth. Variations in electron density cause signal delays and distortions that strongly affect the accuracy of positioning, navigation, and timing applications, especially for single-frequency GNSS receivers. Accurate ionosphere models—describing the global or regional electron content—are essential to correct these effects and enable precise applications such as autonomous navigation and precision farming.

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