Every 11 years, the Sun swings from a quiet phase to an energetic one in a pattern called a solar cycle. The current peak—Solar Cycle 25—began in December 2019 and is forecast to stay fiery through late‑2025. During a peak the Sun shows more sunspots, emits short‑lived solar flares, and throws out massive coronal mass ejections (CMEs).
GNSS signals (from GPS, Galileo, GLONASS and BeiDou) travel 20,000 km to reach your rover at whisper‑level power. When a flare ionises the upper atmosphere, or a CME yanks on Earth’s magnetic field, that whisper can be garbled or delayed. The result is longer “getting‑fixed” times, drifting coordinates and, in the worst cases, lost data. A typical two‑crew survey team can see €300‑€500 of productivity vanish in a single hour of heavy space weather.
Key Takeaways
- Solar Cycle 25 is expected to keep space-weather risks elevated through late 2025, impacting high-precision GNSS work.
- Solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) can delay fixes, distort positions, and degrade GNSS signal quality.
- Multi-frequency, multi-constellation receivers with IMUs are essential for maintaining accuracy during storm conditions.
- Daily monitoring of Kp index and space-weather dashboards helps crews plan, avoid rework, and safeguard productivity.
- Hi-Techniques offers storm-ready hardware, intelligent software, and round-the-clock support to help surveyors stay on track.
Fix taking minutes instead of seconds?
During Solar Cycle 25, even a “small” solar flare can throw your GNSS rover off by half a metre.
Storm-aware gear isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity.
Solar Activity in Everyday Language
Term | What it means | What it does to GNSS |
Sunspots | Dark, magnetically intense patches | More spots → more storms |
Solar flare | Flash of X‑ray/UV energy; arrives in 8 min | Short delays, extra noise |
CME | Bubble of charged gas; arrives in 1–3 days | Hours of geomagnetic disturbance |
Ionosphere | 60–1 000 km‑high charged layer | Bends and scatters L‑band signals |
Think of the ionosphere as a pane of glass. On a calm day it’s flat and clear; signals zip straight through. During a flare it ripples like water, forcing signals to travel a longer, wobbly path and adding errors that can top a metre. After a CME, the pane can stay rippled for a full business day.
GNSS 101—Why Storms Break It
High‑precision workflows use two key tricks:
- Real‑Time Kinematic (RTK). A nearby base station sends live corrections so the rover can lock to the carrier‑wave of multiple frequencies and return centimetre accuracy in seconds.
- Precise Point Positioning (PPP). Cloud services model satellite orbits, clocks and broad ionospheric trends worldwide, letting you work without a local base.
Both methods assume the ionosphere changes slowly and smoothly. A sudden flare breaks that rule; carrier‑phase ambiguities reset, RTK drops to “float,” PPP stalls, and you burn daylight.
Common field clues:
- Fix times stretch from 10 s to several minutes.
- Coordinates drift 20–100 cm, sometimes more.
- Cycle‑slip beeps become a constant soundtrack.
How Solar Storms Mess with Your Gear
Storm flavour | Typical field symptoms | Likely duration |
Flare burst | RTK jumps 0.1–0.5 m, PPP pauses | 10–30 min |
Dusk “twinkling” (scintillation) | Satellites vanish from the list; repeated resets | 30 min–3 h |
Geomagnetic storm (CME) | Whole area accuracy degrades; network RTK fails spec | 6–36 h |
A single metric—Kp index (0–9)—tells you when trouble is brewing. At Kp 5 most survey crews notice slower fixes; at Kp 7‑8 many shut down centimetre‑critical work altogether.
Field Stories from Cycle 25
- Kerry Coast, May 2024. A hydrographic crew saw eight‑second fixes stretch to three minutes during a G5 storm. They logged extra control, came back next tide, and salvaged the job in post‑processing.
- Motorway Grade Control, Slovakia, Oct 2024. GNSS bulldozers drifted half a metre off design. Operators flipped to manual, and planners rescheduled precise grading for the next geomagnetically quiet window—avoiding tens of thousands in rework.
- Wind‑Farm Anchor Bolts, Donegal, Feb 2025. Mid‑day coordinates slid 25 cm, then self‑corrected. Postmortem showed a lunchtime flare had spiked ionospheric delay; the crew now checks a space‑weather app every morning.
Four‑Step Mitigation Playbook
Choose Storm‑Ready Gear
- Multi‑frequency/multi‑constellation receivers catch more satellites and spot bad ones faster.
- Low‑noise antennas preserve signal‑to‑noise ratio.
- IMUs bridge 30–60 s of dropouts, keeping machine control smooth.
- Redundant radios keep base‑to‑rover data flowing if 4 G falters.
Check the Forecast—Daily
- NOAA, MOSWOC and ESA dashboards colour‑code risk.
- Shop rule: Kp ≥ 5? move centimetre work, or at least add extra control.
Plan & Document
- Schedule critical stake‑out for morning or early afternoon.
- Observe extra check points; compare GNSS to total‑station ties.
- Keep firmware current—manufacturers constantly improve storm filters.
Coach the Crew
- Five‑minute toolbox talk: what “solar storm day” looks like and who to call.
- Posters with QR links to dashboards in every site hut.
- Annual drill: switch to optical methods when the rover beeps nonstop.
Before, During & After Checklist
Stage | Actions |
Before | Read tomorrow’s Kp outlook; charge radios & batteries; confirm base logs. |
During | If fix > 60 s, pause critical shots; watch signal bars for group drop‑outs; note any big jumps with time. |
After | Scrub logs; re‑observe suspect vectors; archive storm notes with job file for warranty protection. |
Hitechniques: Precision Gear for Unpredictable Skies
At Hitechniques, resilience isn’t just a feature—it’s a foundation. With decades of experience in geospatial technology, HiTechniques equips professionals with an integrated triad of Robust Hardware, Intelligent Software, and Responsive Support designed to keep operations steady when ionospheric noise and solar disturbances threaten precision.
Tested & Trusted Hardware for Solar-Turbulent Days
- 🔗 GeoMax Zenith60 Pro LTE-IMU GNSS Smart Antenna
This advanced GNSS receiver offers multi-constellation tracking and an integrated IMU for tilt compensation, ensuring reliable performance even in challenging environments. - 🔗 GeoMax Zenith40 GNSS Receiver GSM Rover Set
Designed for high-precision surveying tasks, the Zenith40 provides robust signal tracking and seamless integration with various field software solutions. - 🔗 GeoMax Zoom95 Series Robotic Total Station
Equipped with advanced features like STReAM360 technology, the Zoom95 ensures fast and accurate measurements, making it ideal for dynamic surveying projects.
Smart Software That Foresees Trouble
- 🔗 GeoMax X-PAD Ultimate Field Software
A versatile field software solution that supports both GNSS and total station operations, offering intuitive workflows and real-time data processing capabilities. - 🔗 GeoMax X-PERT Subscription
Ensure your X-PAD Ultimate software stays up-to-date with the latest features and improvements through the X-PERT subscription service.
Support That Doesn’t Blink
Hitechniques backs every product with seasoned field support and training, both online and on-site. Whether you’re fighting through solar storms or prepping for one, their experts ensure your tech—and your team—stay aligned.
Together, Hitechniques tools build a layered defense against space weather. Rugged hardware endures, predictive software adapts, and human intelligence stays ahead—so your crews don’t have to pause when the Sun misbehaves.
Handy Real‑Time Tools—With More Than One‑Line Tips
Tool | What it does | Field use‑case |
NOAA SWPC Dashboard | Combines 3‑day Kp forecast with real‑time solar‑flare scale. | A foreman checks the “5‑day outlook” tab Monday morning, flags Thursday’s concrete pour when Kp is predicted to hit 6. |
MOSWOC Storm Monitor | Tailors alerts for Northern Europe. Green, Amber or Red bars update every 15 min. | Machine‑control operators watch the bar on a phone widget; if it flips Amber, they switch to blade guidance mode until accuracy returns. |
ESA SWACI Map | Animates ionospheric Total Electron Content over Europe. | Network RTK admins glance at gradient slopes; a steep TEC wall warns them to widen error tolerances before clients complain. |
SCINDA‑GNSS App | Reads local rover S4 and phase indices via Bluetooth. | A crew chief clips a phone to the pole; the app beeps when “twinkling” exceeds 0.5, signalling it’s time to switch to optical ties. |
HT Risk Widget | Rolls all of the above into SurveyPro; adds SMS/email push. | Office scheduler gets a text at 04:00 that Kp will hit 7 by lunchtime—critical machine‑control tasks are bumped to Saturday in minutes. |
Counting the Cost—Why Prevention Pays
Cost bucket | Typical hit | Example |
Direct labour | €150 hr⁻¹ for a two‑person crew | 2 h lost = €300 |
Plant & traffic | €1 000–€2 000 day⁻¹ | Lane closure extended one day |
Rework | €20 000–€40 000 | Re‑grading 200 m of road sub‑base |
Reputation | Hard to price | Missed hand‑over date; liquidated damages |
Compared to these numbers, a five‑minute forecast check or an IMU‑equipped rover looks like a bargain.
Wrapping Up
Solar Cycle 25 will keep space‑weather risk elevated through at least December 2025. Flares and CMEs can turn a smooth survey into a troubleshooting marathon—but only for teams that are unprepared.
With storm‑ready receivers, live dashboards, informed scheduling, and a trained crew, you can keep centimetre‑level accuracy on even the noisiest space‑weather day. Hitechniques stands ready with hardware, software and 24/7 expertise to keep your projects humming—rain, shine, or solar storm.
Stay ahead of the storm—explore Hitechniques’ trusted GNSS solutions, expert support, and training.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s Solar Cycle 25?
The Sun’s current active phase (2019–2025 +). More sunspots mean more space weather.
How do solar flares harm GNSS?
They stir the ionosphere in minutes, delaying and distorting satellite signals.
Why does the ionosphere matter?
GNSS signals must pass through it; when it ripples, coordinates drift.
Is newer gear really better?
Yes—multi‑frequency, multi‑constellation receivers with IMUs ride out storms far better than older single‑frequency models.
Fastest way to dodge trouble?
Check a dashboard daily, schedule centimetre‑critical jobs on quiet days, and collect redundant control.
Field signs a storm is hitting me?
Fix times creep past a minute, rover flips to “float,” or points drift tens of centimetres.
Where do I find live info?
NOAA SWPC, UK MOSWOC, ESA SWCC, and the Risk Widget built into SurveyPro.
Will storms get worse?
Activity stays high into 2025, then fades as the cycle winds down.
Safe to keep surveying during a storm?
Yes—if you monitor conditions, use robust kit, and pause critical work when accuracy drops.
Do SBAS corrections fix everything?
Good for mapping‑grade jobs; centimetre RTK still needs multi‑band data or IMU bridging in strong storms.
Quick on‑site test for ionospheric trouble?
If several satellite bars dip together and the rover reverts to float, the Sun is probably acting up.
Can I receive storm alerts by text?
Yes. The HT Risk Widget can text or email when Kp is predicted to hit 5 or higher.
Could storms knock out power or phones?
Major events sometimes disrupt grids and mobile networks—keep radios and spare batteries charged.
Further Reading
- Impact of Solar Cycle 25 on GNSS Measurements: Analysis of Ionospheric Scintillation and Positioning Challenges: This study examines how increased ionospheric activity during Solar Cycle 25 affects GNSS measurements, highlighting the challenges in positioning accuracy due to ionospheric refraction and diffraction.
- Ionosphere Disturbances on GNSS Signal and Positioning Performance: Investigates the effects of ionospheric disturbances caused by solar flares on GNSS signal quality and positioning accuracy, focusing on events from September 2017 and October 2021.
- Low-Latitude Ionospheric Responses and Positioning Performance of Ground GNSS Associated with the Geomagnetic Storm on March 13–14, 2022: Analyzes the impact of a geomagnetic storm on the ionosphere and GNSS positioning, providing insights into the causal chain from solar wind disturbances to positioning errors.
- Signals, Scintillation and the Solar Effect: Explores how solar activity during Solar Cycle 25 leads to GNSS signal disruptions, offering strategies for geospatial professionals to maintain operational resilience.
- Assessment and Mitigation of Ionospheric Disturbance Effects on GPS Accuracy and Integrity: Discusses the impact of ionospheric disturbances on GPS performance, particularly over equatorial regions, and proposes mitigation strategies to enhance accuracy and integrity.