GPS Radio Occultation—A New Data Source for Improvement of Antarctic Pressure Field

• Main Authors: Ge Shengjie, Shum C. K, Wickert Jens, Reigber Chris
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antarctic; Antarc*
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.196.2669; http://www.cosmic.ucar.edu/related_papers/2002_ge_etal_wuhan.pdf

Abstract: Radio occultation concept, first tested on planetary satellite missions, can also be applied to Low-Earth-Orbiting (LEO) satellites with GPS occultation receivers. Successfully demonstrated for the first time by the GPS/MET experiment in 1995 [27] , GPS occultation technique shows great prospective to provide accurate pressure, temperature and water vapor profiles in the Earth’s neutral atmosphere. This atmospheric data source provides enhancement in temporal and spatial resolution, in addition to the traditional measurements (e.g., radiosonde, nadir-viewing satellite based radiometers) and ground-based GPS networks (antenna zenith delays) for precipitable water vapor (PWV) measurements. The new generation Blackjack GPS receivers onboard the current operating LEOs (SAC-C, CHAMP and GRACE), the