A Simulation Study on the Use of GPS Signals to Infer 3-D Atmospheric Wet Refractivity Structure

Atmospheric water vapor is a key variable in numerical weather prediction (NWP) models, but it is a crucial factor to limit the accuracy of high-precision GPS positioning technique. For both issues, knowledge about the amount of water vapor is extremely important. In this study, we perform a simulation study to utilize GPS signals through a developed tomographic scheme to retrieve 3D structure of atmospheric wet refractivity, which may be assimilated into NWP models for advancing forecasting or position calculation for improving GPS positioning accuracy. For the purpose of knowing the absolute accuracy of the developed tomographic method, a well-defined temporal and spatial varying state of atmospheric profile is utilized. Under such circumstance, several factors that may influence the retrievals can be easily examined and their impacts may be clearly quantified. They include the values of the positional dilution of precision (PDOP) factors of the GPS signals, ... etc. Based upon the use of a variety spectrum of adjustable factors, many interesting findings are obtained. For example, the more is the number of the observed GPS signals the better becomes the retrievals as expected. Also, the smaller is the PDOP value the better becomes the retrievals.