NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
Observing Tropospheric Water Vapor by Radio Occultation using the Global Positioning SystemGiven the importance of water vapor to weather, climate and hydrology, global humidity observations from satellites are critical. At low latitudes, radio occultation observations of Earth's atmosphere using the Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites allow water vapor profiles to be retrieved with accuracies of 10 to 20% below 6 to 7 km altitude and approx. 5% or better within the boundary layer. GPS observations provide a unique combination of accuracy, vertical resolution (less than or equal to 1 km) and insensitivity to cloud and aerosol particles that is well suited to observations of the lower troposphere. These characteristics combined with the inherent stability of radio occultation observations make it an excellent candidate for the measurement of long term trends.
Document ID
19990099703
Acquisition Source
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Kursinski, E. R.
(California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA United States)
Hajj, G. A.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA United States)
Hardy, K. R.
(Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space Palo Alto, CA United States)
Romans, L. J.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA United States)
Schofield, J. T.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA United States)
Date Acquired
August 19, 2013
Publication Date
September 1, 1995
Publication Information
Publication: Geophysical Research Letters
Publisher: American Geophysical Union
Volume: 22
Issue: 17
ISSN: 0094-8534
Subject Category
Meteorology And Climatology
Report/Patent Number
Paper-95GL02127
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available