GPS meteorology - remote sensing of atmospheric water vapor using the Global Positioning System
- North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh (United States) MIT, Cambridge, MA (United States) Univ. Navstar Consortium, Boulder, CO (United States) Univ. Corp. for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States)
We present a new approach to remote sensing of water vapor based on the Global Positioning System (GPS). Geodesists and geophysicists have devised methods for estimating the extent to which signals propagating from GPS satellites to ground-based GPS receivers are delayed by atmospheric water vapor. This delay is parameterized in terms of a time-varying zenith wet delay (ZWD) which is retrieved by stochastic filtering of the GPS data. Given surface temperature and pressure readings at the GPS receiver, the retrieved ZWD can be transformed with very little additional uncertainty into an estimate of the integrated water vapor (IWV) overlying that receiver. Networks of continuously operating GPS receivers are being constructed by geodesists, geophysicists, and government and military agencies, in order to implement a wide range of positioning capabilities. These emerging GPS networks offer the possibility of observing the horizontal distribution of IWV or, equivalently, precipitate water with unprecedented coverage and a temporal resolution of the order of 10 min. These measurements could be utilized in operational weather forecasting and in fundamental research into atmospheric storm systems, the hydrologic cycle, atmospheric chemistry, and global climate change. 59 refs.
- OSTI ID:
- 7184511
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States), Vol. 97; ISSN 0148-0227
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Application of microwave radiometry to improving climate data records.
Precipitable Water Vapor Characterization In The Gulf Of Cadiz Region (Southwestern Spain) Based On Sun Photometer, GPS And Radiosonde Data
Related Subjects
WATER VAPOR
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
REMOTE SENSING
AEROSOL MONITORING
ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY
CLIMATIC CHANGE
METEOROLOGY
SIGNAL-TO-NOISE RATIO
AIR POLLUTION MONITORING
CHEMISTRY
FLUIDS
GASES
MONITORING
VAPORS
540120* - Environment
Atmospheric- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (1990-)