Maritime Radio Systems Performances in the High North (MARENOR)

As the activity level is increasing in the Arctic, there is also a growing focus on safety and efficiency of maritime and marine operations. Support systems based on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and digital communication are being developed and taken into use. However, the environmental and space conditions in and over the Arctic opposes navigation and communication systems to challenges different from other places on Earth. Ionospheric and atmospheric effects, harsh weather conditions leading to rapid vessel movements, icing on antennas and other outdoor equipment, low elevation angles, poor groundbased communication infrastructure and system architectures are elements that have an effect on the total performance of the navigation and communication systems. MARENOR will develop a tool for total quality of assessment on such systems. This will be achieved through measurement campaigns and analysis.

The main objective of MARENOR is to quantify the system performance of the most common navigation and communication systems being used by maritime users in the High North. This will be achieved through measurement campaings and analyses of:

1. System architecture, 2. Signal propagation (L-, C-, Ku-, Ka-band), 3. Signal degradation factors (ionosphere, atmosphere, ship movements, position, icing on antennas).

The expected result is a model and tool for quality of system assessment on navigation and communication performance at high latitudes.

In this paper, we present an overview of the MARENOR project, summarise the processes that exhibit degrading effects on radio signals traversing the Earth's ionosphere and an outlook on possible correction mechanisms.