Assessment of Satellite Differential Code Biases and Regional Ionospheric Modeling Using Carrier-Smoothed Code of BDS GEO and IGSO Satellites

The geostationary earth orbit (GEO) represents a distinctive geosynchronous orbit situated in the Earth’s equatorial plane, providing an excellent platform for long-term monitoring of ionospheric total electron content (TEC) at a quasi-invariant ionospheric pierce point (IPP). With GEO satellites having limited dual-frequency coverage, the inclined geosynchronous orbit (IGSO) emerges as a valuable resource for ionospheric modeling across a broad range of latitudes. This article evaluates satellite differential code biases (DCB) of BDS high-orbit satellites (GEO and IGSO) and assesses regional ionospheric modeling utilizing data from international GNSS services through a refined polynomial method. Results from a 48-day observation period show a stability of approximately 2.0 ns in BDS satellite DCBs across various frequency signals, correlating with the available GNSS stations and satellites. A comparative analysis between GEO and IGSO satellites in BDS2 and BDS3 reveals no significant systematic bias in satellite DCB estimations. Furthermore, high-orbit BDS satellites exhibit considerable potential for promptly detecting high-resolution fluctuations in vertical TECs compared to conventional geomagnetic activity indicators like Kp or Dst. This research also offers valuable insights into ionospheric responses over mid-latitude regions during the March 2024 geomagnetic storm, utilizing TEC estimates derived from BDS GEO and IGSO satellites.