EclipseNB: a network of low-cost gnss receivers to study ionospheric response to the april 2024 solar eclipse

Abstract

Solar eclipses provide unique natural laboratories for probing the response of the terrestrial ionosphere to abrupt changes in solar extreme ultraviolet irradiance. The total solar eclipse of 8 April 2024 traversed a path from Mexico through the eastern United States and into southeastern Canada, offering an exceptional opportunity for densely sampled ground based ionospheric observations. This paper describes the EclipseNB project, a dedicated network of 15 low cost dual frequency Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers deployed across the Canadian province of New Brunswick to capture the ionospheric signature of this event. Each station comprised a u-blox ZED-F9P receiver module interfaced with a Raspberry Pi single board computer and a cellular modem for near real time data transmission to the University of New Brunswick. Vertical total electron content (VTEC) was derived from dual frequency pseudorange and carrier phase observables using standard differential code bias calibration techniques. The network recorded a pronounced reduction in VTEC of 8 to 16 total electron content units (TECU) during the eclipse passage, corresponding to depletions of 25% to 45% relative to reference day values. The minimum in VTEC lagged behind the moment of maximum solar obscuration by 14 to 23 minutes across the network, consistent with the finite recombination timescale of ionospheric plasma. A strong positive correlation was observed between solar obscuration percentage and the magnitude of VTEC depletion. Comparison with a collocated geodetic grade Trimble NetR9 receiver demonstrated root mean square residuals below 1.2 TECU, confirming that low cost GNSS hardware can yield scientifically robust ionospheric measurements. These results validate the utility of affordable receiver networks for regional ionospheric monitoring and have implications for citizen science initiatives and space weather surveillance in underserved regions.