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Monitoring the atmospheric boundary layer by GPS radio occultation signals recorded in the open‐loop mode
Author(s) -
Sokolovskiy S.,
Kuo Y.H.,
Rocken C.,
Schreiner W. S.,
Hunt D.,
Anthes R. A.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2006gl025955
Subject(s) - radiosonde , radio occultation , troposphere , planetary boundary layer , remote sensing , environmental science , occultation , meteorology , inversion (geology) , global positioning system , boundary layer , geology , geodesy , atmospheric sciences , physics , computer science , telecommunications , turbulence , astronomy , paleontology , structural basin , thermodynamics
A new type of radio occultation (RO) data, recorded in open‐loop (OL) mode from the SAC‐C satellite, has been tested for monitoring refractivity in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer (ABL). Previously available RO signals, recorded in phase‐locked loop mode were often unusable for sensing the lower troposphere (LT) or resulted in significant inversion errors, especially in the tropics. The OL RO signals allow sensing of the LT and accurate monitoring of the ABL and, especially, its depth. Comparison of RO‐inverted refractivity profiles to ECMWF analysis and available radiosondes generally shows good agreement in the depth of the ABL. However, in a number of cases, ECMWF fails to reproduce the top of ABL. Future OL RO signals will provide information about the ABL depth which is an important parameter for weather prediction and climate monitoring.