# The Status of Space Weather Infrastructure and Research in Africa
## 2 Distribution of Space Weather Infrastructure in Africa
### Space Weather Monitoring
#### 2.1.1 Global Navigation Satellite Systems Receivers

Table 1: GPS ionospheric scintillation and TEC monitors in Africa. to replace damaged equipment or even add more to the network to enable research work to continue. Figure 2 clearly shows that most of the GPS receiver stations are unable to transmit data to external collaborators because of poor internet connectivity, followed by unreliable electricity supply, and lack of technical expertise to configure the receiver systems properly. These equipment hosts often need thorough training to be able to run and maintain the equipment, but usually, this is at the cost of the external collaborator. For operational stations, not all operate optimally (i.e., some GPS receiver stations operate intermittently, a few are fully operational, and the vast majority are non-operational). (b)Geodetic GNSS Receivers and GNSS reference receivers for surveying and mapping. GNSS receivers have been deployed by several external parties (NASA, NOAA, ESA, BKG, and others) for geodetic studies of the African continent. Besides the GNSS receivers deployed by external parties, national mapping agencies in many African countries have installed GNSS reference receivers to support mapping and surveying work. Figure 3 shows the distribution of GNSS geodetic and reference receivers in and around Africa. (b1)International Global Navigation Satellite Systems Service (IGS). The IGS is a voluntary federation of many worldwide agencies (350) that pool resources and data from permanent GNSS stations (512 in 2023) to generate precise GNSS products. The International GNSS Service provides, on an openly available basis, the highest-quality GNSS data, products, and services in support of the terrestrial reference frame; Earth observation and research; PNT; and other applications that benefit science and society [17]. Out of a total of 118 countries around the world, only 22 countries in Africa participate in this network. The list of the 30 operational stations in 2023 is given in Table 2. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c} \hline \hline
**Marker** & **Country** & **Latitude** & **Longitude** \\ \hline ABPO & Madagascar & \(-19.018\) & \(47.229\) \\ ACRG & Ghana & \(5.641\) & \(-0.207\) \\ ADIS & Ethiopia & \(9.035\) & \(38.766\) \\ ASCG & Ascension Is. & \(-7.916\) & \(-14.333\) \\ CPVG & Cape Verde & \(-16.732\) & \(-22.935\) \\ DJIG & Djibouti & \(11.526\) & \(42.847\) \\ FUNC & Portugal & \(32.648\) & \(-16.908\) \\ HARB & South Africa & \(-25.887\) & \(27.707\) \\ HNUS & South Africa & \(-34.425\) & \(19.223\) \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 2: IGS GNSS stations operating in 2023. Figure 2: The causes of the non-operational status of SCINDA GISTM stations and the number of stations affected by each of these causes. The measurements from 1994 are available on two websites in the United States, NASA's CDDIS and SOPAC [2; 18], and on regional sites (IGN in France [19] and BKG in Germany [20]). GAGE/UNAVCO Network  
The Geodetic Facility for the Advancement of Geoscience (GAGE, formerly UNAVCO, _University NAVSTAR Consortium_) is a non-profit university-governed consortium funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). It provides technical support to scientists for geodesy, tectonic, and geophysical events and education. It is responsible for archiving and disseminating measurements in RINEX format. The main projects are for North America and the poles. However, for more than 20 years, UNAVCO has supported a project covering the African continent ('AfricaArray'), with the installation of many GNSS receivers mainly around the East African Rift a few months up to several years, which can be used for space weather research (Figure 4). The files are available on their site via ftp or web GUI [21].