Different mechanisms of the ionospheric influence on GPS occultation signals

A local mechanism for strong ionospheric effects on radio occultation (RO) global positioning satellite system (GPS) signals is described. Peculiar zones centered at the critical points (the tangent points) in the ionosphere, where the gradient of the electron density is perpendicular to the RO ray trajectory, strongly influence the amplitude and phase of RO signals. It follows from the analytical model of local ionospheric effects that the positions of the critical points depend on the RO geometry and the structure of the ionospheric disturbances. Centers of strong ionospheric influence on RO signals can exist, for example, in the sporadic E-layers, which are inclined by 3–6° relative to the local horizontal direction. Also, intense F2 layer irregularities can contribute to the RO signal variations. A classification of the ionospheric influence on the GPS RO signals is introduced using the amplitude data, which indicates different mechanisms (local, diffraction, etc.) for radio waves propagation. The existence of regular mechanisms (e.g., local mechanism) indicates a potential for separating the regular and random parts in the ionospheric influence on the RO signals.     

Response of GPS occultation signals to atmospheric gravity waves and retrieval of gravity wave parameters

We show that the amplitude of the Global Positioning System (GPS) signals in the radio occultation (RO) experiments is an indicator of the activity of the gravity waves (GW) in the atmosphere. The amplitude of the GPS RO signals is more sensitive to the atmospheric wave structures than is the phase. Early investigations used only the phase of the GPS occultation signals for statistical investigation of the GW activity in the height interval 10–40 km on a global scale. In this study, we use the polarization equations and Hilbert transform to find the 1-D GW radio image in the atmosphere by analyzing the amplitude of the RO signal. The radio image, also called the GW portrait, consists of the phase and amplitude of the GW as functions of height. We demonstrate the potential of this method using the amplitude data from GPS/Meteorology (GPS/MET) and satellite mission Challenge Mini-satellite Payload (CHAMP) RO events. The GW activity is nonuniformly distributed with the main contribution associated with the tropopause and the secondary maximums related to the GW breaking regions. Using our method we find the vertical profiles of the horizontal wind perturbations and its vertical gradient associated with the GW influence. The estimated values of the horizontal wind perturbations are in fairly good agreement with radiosonde data. The horizontal wind perturbations v(h) are ±1 to ±5 m s with vertical gradients dv/dh ±0.5 to ±15 m s km at height 10–40 km. The height dependence of the GW vertical wavelength was inferred through the differentiation of the GW phase. Analysis of this dependence using the dispersion relationship for the GW gives the estimation of the projection of the horizontal background wind velocity on the direction of the GW propagation. For the event considered, the magnitude of this projection changes between 1.5 and 10 m s at heights of 10–40 km. We conclude that the amplitude of the GPS occultation signals contain important information about the wave processes in the atmosphere on a global scale.     

利用FY-3C折射率对大气边界层高度的反演与分析

2013年中国发射了首颗进行全球导航卫星系统(global navigation satellite system,GNSS)掩星观测的气象卫星风云3号C星(Fengyun-3C,FY-3C),且已发布自2014年6月以来的FY-3C掩星大气产品,但目前还未见将其应用于大气边界层的相关研究.首次尝试利用FY-3C折射率...     

GPS radio holography as a tool for remote sensing of the atmosphere, mesosphere, and terrestrial surface from space

GPS radio occultation (RO) signals are highly coherent and precise, and thus sufficient for holographic investigation of the atmosphere, ionosphere, and the Earth's surface from space. In principle, three-dimensional radio-holographic remote sensing is possible by using new radio holographic equations to retrieve the radio field within the atmosphere from a radio field known at some interface outside the atmosphere. A simplified two-dimensional form of the radio-holographic equations which are developed under an assumption of local spherical symmetry can be used to obtain two-dimensional radio images of the atmosphere and terrestrial surface. To achieve this, radio holograms recorded by a GPS receiver onboard a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite at two GPS frequencies can be used and focused synthetic aperture principle applied. Analysis of GPS/MET RO data is presented to show the effectiveness of a radio-holographic approach. It is shown that the amplitude of GPS radio signals (in addition to phase data) can be used to obtain detailed altitude profiles of the vertical gradient of refractivity in the atmosphere and electron density in the mesosphere. The results demonstrate the applicability of GPS radio holography for a detailed global study of the natural processes in the atmosphere and mesosphere. Electronic Publication     

GPS radio occultation measurements on ionospheric electron density from low Earth orbit

Since the proof-of-concept GPS/Meteorology (GPS/MET) experiment successfully demonstrated active limb sounding of the Earth’s neutral atmosphere and ionosphere via GPS radio occultation (RO) from low Earth orbit, the developments of electron density (n _e) retrieval techniques and powerful processing systems have made a significant progress in recent years. In this study, the researches of n _e profiling from space-based GPS RO observations are briefly reviewed. Applying to the Formosat-3/Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate (FS3/COSMIC) data, we also present a compensatory Abel inversion technique including the effects of large-scale horizontal gradients and/or inhomogeneous ionospheric n _e obtained from an improved near real-time phenomenological model of the TaiWan Ionospheric Model. The results were evaluated by the ionosonde foF2 and foE data and showed improvements of rms foF2 difference from 29.2 to 16.5% in relative percentage and rms foE difference from 54.2 to 32.7% over the standard Abel inversion.     

利用微波辐射计观测计算云衰减

在地-空路径传播过程中,云衰减对无线电卫星通信系统的高频率信号有着不可忽略的影响。利用HATPRO型微波辐射计观测反演获得的云中液态水密度廓线等信息,提出了一种适用于中纬度地区的精确计算云衰减的方法,得出了地-空路径信号传播过程中,云衰减对信号的影响随着频率增大急剧扩大的结论;具体表现为,在高频波段,99.99%的链路可用时间内云衰减超过10 dB。将微波辐射计计算所得的云衰减与云中液态水总量建立“线性关系”,与ITU-R(国际电联无线电通信部门)模型结果对比。结果表明:由于ITU-R模型低估了武汉地区的云中液态水总量,导致该模型低估了武汉地区的云衰减影响。     

嫦娥三号落月段中欧联合测量弱信号相位估计

干涉测量技术对于直接获取月球和深空探测器空间方位,开展科学研究具有非常重要的意义。提出了一种利用高品质因数天线获取的探测器高动态飞行段估计信息,对远距离异地较低接收品质因数天线接收的弱信号进行补偿,进而实现弱信号窄带跟踪的方法。利用嫦娥三号动力落月段中欧联合干涉测量获取的原始数据进行了验证,结果表明,基于该方法补偿后的弱信号只需采用噪声带宽5 Hz的数字锁相环即可实现精确相位跟踪,对新诺舍站DOR（differential one-way ranging）音信号的相位估计标准差低至3.4°。该方法可应用于中国未来月球和深空探测,以及机构间干涉测量交互支持。     

利用FY3C与FY3D GPS掩星资料研究中低纬地区偶发E层形态的比较

偶发E层(sporadic E,Es)是主要发生在90～120 km高度的电子密度显著增强的电离层薄层,Es层的存在会导致掩星观测中全球导航卫星系统信号强度和相位的强烈波动。利用2019-01—2021-12风云三号C(Fengyun-3C,FY3C)和风云三号D(Fengyun-3D,FY3D)卫星GPS(global positioning system)掩星观测的50Hz信噪比数据提取Es层信息,进而对两颗卫星数据分别反演得到的60°S～60°N中低纬地区Es层发生率的时空分布及季节变化进行比较。结果发现,虽然两颗卫星掩星资料得到的Es层发生率分布形态基本一致,均反映了Es层的发生率与地磁场和中性大气背景风场的相关性,但在大部分季节和地区,由FY3D得到的Es层发生率低于由FY3C得到的结果,北半球夏季中纬地区尤为明显,而FY3C反演结果与基于电离层与气候星座观测系统掩星数据的反演结果更为接近。导致差异的可能原因包括两颗卫星信噪比廓线的上边界高度分布和地方时覆盖上的差异、两颗卫星掩星接收机噪声水平的差异等。上述结果表明,后续融合两颗卫星的掩星数据进行Es层相关研究时,可能需要顾及...     

Quality assessment of COSMIC/FORMOSAT-3 GPS radio occultation data derived from single- and double-difference atmospheric excess phase processing

This study evaluates the quality of GPS radio occultation (RO) atmospheric excess phase data derived with single- and double-difference processing algorithms. A spectral analysis of 1 s GPS clock estimates indicates that a sampling interval of 1 s is necessary to adequately remove the GPS clock error with single-difference processing. One week (May 2–8, 2009) of COSMIC/FORMOSAT-3 data are analyzed in a post-processed mode with four different processing strategies: (1) double-differencing with 1 s GPS ground data, (2) single-differencing with 30 s GPS clock estimates (standard COSMIC Data Analysis and Archival Center product), (3) single-differencing with 5 s GPS clocks, and (4) single-differencing with 1 s GPS clocks. Analyses of a common set of 5,596 RO profiles show that the neutral atmospheric bending angles and refractivities derived from single-difference processing with 1 s GPS clocks are the highest quality. The random noise of neutral atmospheric bending angles between 60 and 80 km heights is about 1.50e−6 rad for the single-difference cases and 1.74e−6 rad for double-differencing. An analysis of pairs of collocated soundings also shows that bending angles derived from single-differencing with 1 s GPS clocks are more consistent than with the other processing strategies. Additionally, the standard deviation of the differences between RO and high-resolution European Center for Medium range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) refractivity profiles at 30 km height is 0.60% for single-differencing with 1 and 5 s GPS clocks, 0.68% for single-differencing with 30 s clocks, and 0.66% for double-differencing. A GPS clock-sampling interval of 1 s or less is required for single- and zero-difference processing to achieve the highest quality excess atmospheric phase data for RO applications.     

Global morphology of ionospheric sporadic E layer from the FormoSat-3/COSMIC GPS radio occultation experiment

Ionospheric sporadic-E (Es) activity and global morphology were studied using the 50 Hz signal-to-noise ratio amplitude and excess phase measurements from the FormoSat-3/Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate (FS3/COSMIC) GPS radio occultation (RO) observations. The results are presented for data collected during the last sunspot cycle from mid-2006 to the end of 2017. The FS3/COSMIC generally performed more than 1000 complete E-region GPS RO observations per day, which were used to retrieve normalized L1-band amplitude standard deviation (SDL1) and relative electron density (N_e) profiles successfully. More or less 31% of those observations were identified as Es events based on SDL1 and peak SDL1 altitude criteria. We found that the peak Es-event i values are approximately proportional to the logarithms of the corresponding peak N_e differences. Five major geographical zones were identified, in which the seasonal and diurnal Es occurrence patterns are markedly different. These five zones include the geomagnetic equatorial zone (??5°?<?magnetic latitude (ML)?<?5°), two extended geomagnetic mid-latitude zones (15°?<?ML?<?55°, and ??55°?<?ML < ??15°), and two auroral zones (70°?<?ML, and ML < ??70°). The Es climatology, namely its variations with each identified zone, altitude, season, and local time has been documented.     

Variational data assimilation for deriving global climate analyses from GNSS radio occultation data

A comprehensive global navigation satellite system (GNSS) based radio occultation (RO) data set is available for meteorology and climate applications since the start of GNSS RO measurements aboard the CHAllenging Mini-satellite Payload (CHAMP) satellite in February 2001. Global coverage, all-weather capability, long-term stability and accuracy not only makes this innovative use of GNSS signals a valuable supplement to the data set assimilated into numerical weather prediction (NWP) systems but also an excellent candidate for global climate monitoring. We present a 3D variational data assimilation (3D-Var) scheme developed to derive consistent global analysis fields of temperature, specific humidity, and surface pressure from GNSS RO data. The system is based on the assimilation of RO data within 6 h time windows into European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) short-term (24 h, 30 h) forecasts, to derive climatologic monthly mean fields. July 2003 was used as a test-bed for assessing the system’s performance. The results show good agreement with climatologies derived from RO data only and recent NWP impact studies. These findings are encouraging for future developments to apply the approach for longer term climatologic analyses, validation of other data sets, and atmospheric variability studies.     

利用一维变分同化方法从地基GPS相位延迟中获取大气折射率

GPS信号相位延迟中包含很多大气信息,通过一定的方法可以从中获取有价值的大气参数。基于地基GPS相位延迟数据,提出了一种结合经验模式的一维变分同化获取大气折射率的方法。利用GPS相位延迟模拟数据进行同化试验,讨论了背景误差的设置对同化结果的影响,采用实测个例对该方法进行了验证。结果表明,该一维变分同化方法可行,并可获取高精度的0~60 km大气折射率。低层大气背景误差设置的准确程度会对整个高度范围内的同化效果产生影响。首次将同化获取的大气折射率应用于无线电波折射修正,取得了很好的修正效果,修正精度可达1 mm量级。     

A comparison of coincident GRACE and ICESat data over Antarctica

In this study, we present a comparison of coincident GRACE and ICESat data over Antarctica. The analysis focused on the secular changes over a 4-year period spanning from 2003 to 2007, using the recently reprocessed and publicly available data sets for both missions. The results show that the two independent data sets possess strong spatial correlations, but that there are several factors that can significantly impact the total derived ice mass variability from both missions. For GRACE, the primary source of uncertainty comes from the modelling of glacial isostatic adjustment, along with the estimates of C _2,0 and the degree one terms. For ICESat, it is shown that assumptions about firn density, rate biases, and the sampling interval of the various laser campaigns can have large effects on the results. Despite these uncertainties, the similarities that do exist indicate a strong potential for the future refinement of both GIA and mass balance estimates of Antarctica.     

A VLBI Delay Model for Radio Sources at a Finite Distance

A relativistic delay model for Earth-based very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) observation of sources at finite distances is derived. The model directly provides the VLBI delay in the scale of terrestrial time. The effect of the curved wave front is represented by using a pseudo source vector K = (R ₁ + R ₂)/(R ₁ + R ₂), and the variation of the baseline vector due to the difference of arrival time is taken into account up to the second-order by using Halley’s method. The precision of the new VLBI delay model is 1 ps for all radio sources above 100 km altitude from the Earth’s surface in Earth-based VLBI observation. Simple correction terms (parallax effect) are obtained, which can also adopt the consensus model (e.g. International Earth Rotation and Reference Frames Service conventions) to finite-distance radio source at R > 10 pc with the same precision. The new model may enable estimation of distance to the radio source directly with VLBI delay data.     

Analysis of atmospheric and ionospheric structures using the GPS/MET and CHAMP radio occultation database: a methodological review

Since 1995, the global positioning system (GPS) has been exploited by the means of the radio occultation (RO) method to obtain the vertical profiles of refractivity, temperature, pressure, and water vapor in the neutral atmosphere and electron density in the ionosphere. Applying the RO method to the study of the Earths atmosphere was demonstrated for the first time with the GPS/MET experiment. Since then, several satellites with GPS receivers, suitable for RO experiments, have been launched including Oersted, SUNSAT, CHAMP, SAC-C, and GRACE. Future RO investigations that are planned now include FORMOSAT3/COSMIC and Terra-SAR missions. New elements in the RO technology are required to meet the goals of improving the accuracy and broadening the potential of the RO method. In this paper, a methodological review of RO investigations is presented to emphasize new directions in applying the RO method: measuring the vertical gradients of the refractivity in the atmosphere and electron density in the lower ionosphere, determination of the temperature regime in the upper stratosphere, investigation of the internal wave activity in the atmosphere, and study of the ionospheric disturbances on a global scale. These new directions may be relevant for investigating the relationships between processes in the atmosphere and mesosphere, the study of thermal regimes in the intermediate heights of the upper stratosphere—lower mesosphere, and the analysis of the influence of the space weather phenomena on the lower ionosphere.     

Differentiation for High-Precision GPS Velocity and Acceleration Determination

Accurate estimates of the velocity and acceleration of a platform are often needed in high dynamic positioning, airborne gravimetry, and geophysics. In turn, differentiation of GPS signals is a crucial process for obtaining these estimates. It is important in the measurement domain where, for example, the phase measurements are used along with their instantaneous derivative (Doppler) to estimate position and velocity. It is also important in postprocessing, where acceleration is usually estimated by differentiating estimates of position and velocity. Various methods of differentiating a signal can have very different effects on the resulting derivative, and their suitability varies from situation to situation. These comments set the stage for the investigations in this article. The objective is twofold: (1) to carry out a comprehensive study of possible differentiation methods, characterizing each in the frequency domain; and (2) to use real data to demonstrate each of these methods in both of the measurement and position domains, in conditions of variable, high, or unknown dynamics. Examples are given using real GPS data in both the measurement domain and in the position and velocity domain. The appropriate differentiator is used in several cases of varying dynamics to derive a Doppler signal from carrier phase measurements (rather than using the raw Doppler generated by the receiver). In the statistic case, it is seen that the accuracy of velocity estimates can be improved from 4.0 mm/s to 0.7 mm/s by using the correct filter. In conditions of medium dynamics experienced in an airborne gravity survey, it is demonstrated that accelerations as the 2–4 mGal level (1 mGal = 0.00001 m/s²) can be obtained at the required filtering periods. Finally, a precision motion table is used to show that when using the correct filter, velocity estimates under high dynamics can be improved by an order of magnitude to 27.0 mm/s. ? 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Single frequency processing of Ørsted GPS radio occultation measurements

The Global Positioning System (GPS) radio occultation measurements obtained using the TurboRogue GPS receiver on the Danish satellite Ørsted have been processed using the single frequency method. Atmospheric profiles of refractivity and temperature are derived and validated against numerical weather prediction data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF). Results from the Ørsted GPS measurement campaign in February 2000 indicate that the single frequency method can provide retrievals with accuracy comparable to that of using two frequencies. From comparisons between measured dry temperature profiles and corresponding dry temperature profiles derived from ECMWF analysis fields, we find a mean difference of less than 0.5 K and a standard deviation of 2–4 K between 500 and 30 hPa in height. Above 30 hPa the impact of the ionosphere becomes more dominant and more difficult to eliminate using the single frequency method, and the results show degraded accuracy when compared to previous analysis results of occultation data from other missions using the dual frequency method. At latitudes less than 40° (denoted low latitudes), the standard deviation is generally smaller than at latitudes higher than 40° (denoted high latitudes). A small temperature bias is observed centered at 200 hPa for low latitudes and at 300 hPa for high latitudes. This indicates that the ECMWF analyses do not adequately resolve the tropopause temperature minimum. In the lowest part of the troposphere an observed warm bias is thought to be due to erroneous tracking of the GPS signal in cases of atmospheric multipath propagation.     

非球形冰晶的毫米波k-Ze关系研究

针对毫米波雷达处理数据的实际需要,应用离散偶极子近似法DDA,获得了非球形冰晶的后向散射及衰减截面并进行了参数化,并主要基于细化的冰云模型,假设冰晶粒子谱为Γ分布,通过模拟取样各1330次（代表1330种粒子分布）,分别计算得到了W波段（94 GHz）与Ka波段（35 GHz）毫米波雷达探测的冰云衰减系数k及雷达反射率因子Z_e,而且利用数值模拟的方法,建立了k-Z_e关系的具体表达式。计算表明,非球形和非瑞利散射对W波段毫米波雷达衰减的影响较大,而且在同样滴谱分布条件下,W波段毫米波雷达的衰减比Ka波段毫米波雷达的大几倍,此外细化的冰云模型对k-Z_e关系具有影响。本研究对中纬度非降水性冰云的毫米波雷达的衰减订正具有参考价值,并对中国的毫米波雷达应用具有借鉴作用。     

Higher-order ionospheric effects in GPS time and frequency transfer

In high-precision geodetic time and frequency transfer, which requires precise modeling of code and carrier phase GPS data, the ionosphere-free combinations P ₃ and L ₃ of the codes and carrier phases, made on the two GPS frequencies, are used to remove the first-order ionospheric effect. We quantify the impact of the residual second- and third-order ionospheric effects on geodetic time and frequency transfer solutions for continental and intercontinental baselines. All time transfer computations are done using the ATOMIUM software, developed at the Royal Observatory of Belgium. In order to avoid contamination by some imperfect modeling of the second- and third-order ionospheric effects in the satellite clock products, only single-difference, common-view processing is used, based on code and carrier phase measurements. The results are shown for weak and strong solar activity, as well as for particular epochs of ionospheric storms. Second-order ionospheric delays can lead to corrections up to about 10 ps in the common-view clock solution of intercontinental baselines with very different longitudes. However, realistic values of the geomagnetic field in the ionosphere are required to assess the amplitude of second-order ionospheric effects in time and frequency transfer during an ionospheric storm.     

Statistical analysis of refractive index through the troposphere and the stratosphere

The main environmental problem in tracking a satellite through the atmosphere is in finding the most probable value of the mean refractive index. In this paper, the mean refractive index is computed as a four-part model. The troposphere is treated as one altitude range from sea level to 9 kilometers, and the stratosphere is divided into three altitude ranges, 9 to 18, 18 to 27, and 27 to 36 kilometers. At 36 kilometers, the N-value is approximately equal to two and reduces rapidly to zero. By the use of theEssen formula in radio wave application and the modifiedKohlrausch formula in light wave application, point-to-point values of the refractive index are computed through these altitude ranges. The polynomial expansion of second order from the basic exponential function is selected as the model, and the curve-fitting adjustments of the computed values are established separately to each altitude range to obtain coefficients A, B, and C. A model based on the U. S. Standard Atmosphere, 1962, is used as the reference to which four sets of actual soundings made in Lihue, Hawaii and Fairbanks, Alaska on February 3 and July 2, 1966, are compared. The results show that the parabolic adjustment has a very high reliability. In the use of standard atmosphere, the standard error of the refractive index through the total altitude range of 0 to 36 kilometers, and at the 70° zenith distance, equal only ±7 millimeters when radio waves are utilized, and ±3 millimeters when light waves are utilized. Paper presented at Conference on Refraction Effects in Geodesy and Electronic Distance Measurement, University of New South Wales, 5–8 November 1968. Hawaii Institute of Geophysics Contribution No. 239.