Strategies for 4-D regional modeling of water vapour using GPS

Abstract

Global Positioning System (GPS) signals experience ranging errors due to propagation through the neutral atmosphere. These range delays consist of a hydrostatic component, dependent on air pressure and temperature, and a wet delay dependent on water vapour pressure and temperature. Range delays arising from the hydrostatic component can be computed with accuracies of a few millimeters using existing models, provided that surface barometric or meteorological data are available. By using a regional network of GPS reference stations, it is possible to recover estimates of the Slant Wet Delay to all satellites in view. Observations of the Slant Wet Delay (SWD) can be used to model the vertical and horizontal structure of water vapour over a local area. These techniques are based on a tomographic approach using the SWD as input observables, where 4-D models of the wet refractivity may be derived. This method allows improved resolution of water vapour estimates for precise positioning applications and assimilation into Numerical Weather Predictions (NWP). In this paper we present strategies for real-time modeling of wet refractivity, with simulations and preliminary results of data processing for a regional GPS network in Southern California.