基于STK的GPS/LEO无线电掩星技术仿真研究

GPS/LEO无线电掩星技术反演地球大气参数剖面已经具有较高的精度. 国外开展了多个GPS/LEO掩星项目, 但中国还尚未深入进行相关的实验, 这制约了中国掩星技术的发展. 本文提出基于STK进行GPS/LEO掩星技术研究的方法; 根据GPS/LEO掩星的原理, 推导出掩星事件发生的条件和掩星切点的计算公式; 利用STK对掩星过程进行模拟, 得到掩星数据. 在大气球对称假设和大气模型已知的条件下, 反演得到中性大气折射指数. 通过比较模型和反演数据, 表明反演数据精度较高, 验证了利用STK模拟GPS/LEO掩星实验方法的可行性.      

Application of neural networks to South African GPS TEC modelling

The propagation of radio signals in the Earth’s atmosphere is dominantly affected by the ionosphere due to its dispersive nature. Global Positioning System (GPS) data provides relevant information that leads to the derivation of total electron content (TEC) which can be considered as the ionosphere’s measure of ionisation. This paper presents part of a feasibility study for the development of a Neural Network (NN) based model for the prediction of South African GPS derived TEC. The South African GPS receiver network is operated and maintained by the Chief Directorate Surveys and Mapping (CDSM) in Cape Town, South Africa. Vertical total electron content (VTEC) was calculated for four GPS receiver stations using the Adjusted Spherical Harmonic (ASHA) model. Factors that influence TEC were then identified and used to derive input parameters for the NN. The well established factors used are seasonal variation, diurnal variation, solar activity and magnetic activity. Comparison of diurnal predicted TEC values from both the NN model and the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI-2001) with GPS TEC revealed that the IRI provides more accurate predictions than the NN model during the spring equinoxes. However, on average the NN model predicts GPS TEC more accurately than the IRI model over the GPS locations considered within South Africa.     

Measurements of the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere during tropical cyclones using the GPS radio occultation technique

Water vapour transport to the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere by deep convective storms affects the radiation balance of the atmosphere and has been proposed as an important component of climate change. The aim of the work presented here is to understand if the GPS radio occultation technique is useful for characterization of this process. Our assessment addresses the question if severe storms leave a significant signature in radio occultation profiles in the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere. Radio occultation data from the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate (COSMIC) were analyzed, focusing on two particular tropical cyclones with completely different characteristics, the hurricane Bertha, which formed in the Atlantic Basin during July 2008 and reached a maximum intensity of Category 3, and the typhoon Hondo, which formed in the south Indian Ocean during 2008 reaching a maximum intensity of Category 4. The result is positive, suggesting that the bending angle of a GPS radio occultation signal contains interesting information on the atmosphere around the tropopause, but not any information regarding the water vapour. The maximum percentage anomaly of bending angle between 14 and 18 km of altitude during tropical cyclones is typically larger than the annual mean by 5–15% and it can reach 20% for extreme cases. The results are discussed in connection to the GPS radio occultation receiver which will be part of the Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space (ACES) payload on the International Space Station.     

2000年7月和2003年10月大磁暴期间东亚地区中低纬电离层的GPS TEC的响应研究

利用武汉电离层观象台研制的GPS TEC的现报方法及现报系统,对东亚地区GPS台网的观测数据进行处理分析,特别对2000年7月14-18日和2003年10月28日至11月1日两次特大磁暴期间的数据进行了对比考察,文中分析了两次磁暴间的电离层响应,得到对应不同磁暴时段电离层TEC的不同变化情况,着重揭示了TEC赤道异常峰的压缩和移动以及赤道异常随时间的压缩—反弹—恢复的过程,并结合高纬电离层的部分响应机制进行了说明,结果显示,两次磁暴期的电离层响应表现出了各自不同的特点,从而反映出因季节变化引起的高纬电离层暴时能量注入的不同而造成的全球性电离层扰动的不同形态,由此看出,磁暴期间电离层TEC的变化直接与太阳扰动发生的时间及其对高纬电离层的耦合有关,若短时期内连续发生多次磁暴,则电离层反应更加复杂,不能简单地当做单一磁暴叠加处理。     

Tropopause analysis over the Iranian region using GPS radio occultation data

Near-tropopause phenomena like upper level fronts and cyclones, penetrative cumulus convection and mesoscale mechanisms of exchange make important contributions to the mixing processes in the atmosphere. Spatio-temporal monitoring of the tropopause height, temperature and pressure is an appropriate tool to show the running processes in the atmosphere. In this study, GPS radio occultation data is used to investigate the tropopause height fluctuations and the relation between the stratosphere–troposphere exchange and the aforementioned phenomena over the Iranian region. The paper shows how the position of the sub-tropical jet has changed with time, using GPS radio occultation observations. The tropopause height changes latitudinally, and three different bimodal probability distribution functions are observed. The results also show that the mixing region in the south of Iran is associated with the subtropical jet in winter. However, this region shifts north of Iran due to changes in the position of the subtropical jet during the summer. Consistency of the mixing region from the radio occultation data and the total ozone of TOMS over the Iranian region is also observed.     

Wavelet modelling in support of IRI

The slant total electron content (STEC) of the ionosphere is defined as the integral of the electron density along the ray-path of the signal between the transmitter and the receiver. So-called geometry free GPS measurements provide information on the electron density, which is basically a four-dimensional function depending on spatial position and time. Since ground-based measurements are not very sensitive to the vertical structure within the atmosphere, the ionosphere is often represented by a spherical layer, where all electrons are concentrated. Then the STEC is transformed into the vertical total electron content (VTEC), which is a three-dimensional function depending on longitude, latitude and time.In our approach, we decompose an ionospheric function, i.e. the electron density or the VTEC, into a reference part computed from a given model like the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) and an unknown correction term expanded in a multi-dimensional series in terms of localizing base functions. The corresponding series coefficients are calculable from GPS measurements applying parameter estimation procedures. Since the GPS receivers are located rather unbalanced, finer structures are modelable just in regions with a sufficient number of observation sites. Due to the localizing feature of B-spline functions we apply a tensor product spline expansion to model the correction term regionally. Furthermore, the multi-resolution representation derived from wavelet analysis allows monitoring the ionosphere at different resolutions levels. We demonstrate the advantages of this procedure by representing a simulated VTEC data set over South America.     

观测站稀疏地区的WAAS电离层时延网格修正算法

在改进的广域增强系统电离层时延网格算法的基础上，给出了针对观测量比较少的地区比较适用的电离层时延网格修正算法，并通过模拟数据和GPS实测数据与原方法进行了分析比较．结果表明，在观测站稀疏的情况下，本文的计算方法模式的精度比原方法有较大的提高．     

Seasonal variation of gravity wave sources from satellite observation

Recent high-resolution satellite observations of gravity waves in the middle atmosphere have shown correlations with the strength of the stratospheric jet stream, surface topography, and tropical convection. Seasonal variations of wave-induced stratospheric radiance variances are often the manifestations of modulations of these sources and refractive influences. In this paper, we focus on the seasonal climatology of gravity waves observed by the UARS MLS, while also showing some new results from GPS and AMSU instruments. Our analysis is aided by MWFM modeling of mountain waves at high latitudes and CMAP precipitation indices in the subtropics to provide a clearer picture of global gravity wave dynamics.     

新型高空探测系统

研发了一种新型全自动高空探测系统,其利用GPS定位,宽波瓣天线捕捉和低噪声接收的方法替代雷达或无线电经纬仪对高空探测仪进行跟踪定位和获取信息,具有不受低仰角的限制,目标不易丢失,性能价格比高等特点,成功将GPS应用于1680 MHz遥测数据传输体制.利用该系统进行了空中大气电场的探测实验,获得了满意的探测结果.由于系统轻便、操作简单、成本较低以及良好的机动性和可靠性,在近地空间环境探测和高空大气科学探测试验及常规的气象探测中有广阔的应用前景.     

Evaluation of uncertainty in gravity wave potential energy calculations through GPS radio occultation measurements

The application of the Global Positioning System (GPS) radio occultation (RO) method to the atmosphere enables the determination of height profiles of temperature, among other variables. From these measurements, gravity wave activity is usually quantified by calculating the potential energy through the integration of the ratio of perturbation and background temperatures between two given altitudes in each profile. The uncertainty in the estimation of wave activity depends on the systematic biases and random errors of the measured temperature, but also on additional factors like the selected vertical integration layer and the separation method between background and perturbation temperatures. In this study, the contributions of different parameters and variables to the uncertainty in the calculation of gravity wave potential energy in the lower stratosphere are investigated and quantified. In particular, a Monte Carlo method is used to evaluate the uncertainty that results from different GPS RO temperature error distributions. In addition, our analysis shows that RO data above 30 km height becomes dubious for gravity waves potential energy calculations.     

Extending multipath hemispherical model to account for time-varying receiver code biases

Multipath effects on code observables account for one of the major error sources in high-accuracy Global Positioning System (GPS)-based positioning, atmosphere sounding and timing applications. The multipath hemispherical model (MHM) represents one of the most widely used methods of mitigating code multipath effects by taking advantage of their spatial repeatability. The use of MHM usually assumes that the receiver code biases (RCBs) are time-invariant; however, this assumption is not always valid, as RCBs and linear combinations thereof (differential code biases, for instance) have long been found to be time-varying over a period of one day. In this contribution, we propose an extended multipath hemispherical model (EMHM) that is capable of mitigating the code multipath effects in the presence of time-varying RCBs. Consequently, the proposed EMHM has two advantages. First, the EMHM gives rise to code multipath corrections with improved reliability because it addresses the intraday variability of RCBs. Second, more interestingly, the EMHM allows easy and effective calibration of short-term temporal variations, if any, in the RCB on each frequency. These advantages are hopeful to benefit GPS code-related applications.     

An inter-comparison of zenith tropospheric delays derived from DORIS and GPS data

Doppler Orbitography Radiopositioning Integrated by Satellite (DORIS) and Global Positioning System (GPS) techniques are similarly affected by propagation delays in the neutral atmosphere (troposphere) and hence make use of similar data processing strategies for reducing this effect. We compare Zenith Tropospheric Delays (ZTDs) estimated from 52 DORIS and GPS station pairs co-located at 35 sites over the 2005–2008 period. We find an overall systematic negative mean bias of −4 mm and a median bias of −2 mm, with a large site-to-site scatter and especially stronger biases over South America, potentially linked to remaining problems related to the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) in the current DORIS data processing. The standard deviation of ZTD differences is in the range 4–12 mm over the globe (8 mm on average), with larger values located in the southern hemisphere. The spatial variability of differences is consistent with previous work but remains largely unexplained. DORIS is shown to be much less sensitive to instrumental changes than GPS (only the switch from Alcatel to Starec antenna at Toulouse is detected as an offset of −4 mm in the ZTD time series). On the opposite, discontinuities and spurious annual signals are found in the GPS ZTD solutions. A discontinuity of +5 mm is found on 5 November 2006, linked to the switch from relative to absolute GPS antenna models used in the data processing. The use of modified GPS antennas (e.g. at GODE) or improved antenna models is shown to reduce the spurious annual signal (e.g. from 5 mm to 2 mm at METS). Overall, the agreement between both techniques is good, though DORIS shows a significantly larger random scatter. The high stability and good spatial and temporal coverage make DORIS a potential candidate technique for meteorology and climate studies as long as reasonable time averaging can be applied (e.g. differences are reduced from 8.6 to 2.4 mm with 5-day averages) and no real-time application is considered. This technique could be considered as a potential contributor to Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS) for climatology.     

Observation of wave structures in the upper atmosphere by means of radio holographic analysis of the radio occultation data

A radio holographic approach, developed by Pavelyev (1998), Hocke (1999), Igarashi (2000), is applied to observation of wave phenomena in the upper atmosphere using Global Positioning System — “Microlab-1” satellite (GPS/MET) radio occultation data. In the current state the radio holography approach uses the radar focused synthetic aperture principle to obtain high spatial resolution, and to remove the interference part corresponding to scattering from the upper ionosphere. High spatial resolution and accuracy of the radio halographic method is validated by means of revealing the weak signal reflected from the sea in the GPS/MET radio occultation data. The radio holographic method gives a new possibility to measure directly the vertical gradient of the electron density altitude profile in the D-layer using the radio occultation signal. The results of the application of radio holographic analysis to two GPS/MET occultation events (07 February 1997, No. 0447, 0158), in the D-region of the ionosphere, are discussed. Wave structures in the electron density concentration with a vertical spatial period of 1.4–6 km, and variations in the electron density gradient from ±5·10⁹ to ±8·10⁹ [1/(m³km)], have been retrieved from the D-layer data. The features observed in the vertical electron density profiles may be connected with breaking of gravity waves in the D-layer of the ionosphere.     

星载GPS观测数据的模拟研究

重点分析了星载GPS观测值模拟的原理、数学模型等，并用模拟软件模拟了CHAMP卫星的星载GPS观测值情况．结果表明，根据本文提供模拟方法所模拟的CHAMP星载GPS观测值，与实测值相比，无论是在大小还是观测噪声水平上都很接近，因此能满足不同层次人员对星载GPS模拟观测值的需要．     

Propagation of plasma bubbles observed in Brazil from GPS and airglow data

Equatorial spread-F is a common occurrence in the equatorial ionosphere that is associated with large variations in plasma density that often cause scintillation and interference in communication signals. These events are known to result from Rayleigh–Taylor instability, but the day-to-day variability of their occurrence is not well understood. The triggering mechanism of plasma depletions is still a matter of debate, but may be linked to gravity waves that under favorable conditions propagate to the middle atmosphere. Understanding the triggering of ESF was the focus of the SpreadFEx campaign near Brasilia, Brazil in 2005. The campaign provided co-located airglow and GPS observations to study the onset of plasma depletions and their evolution as they traversed the region. Comparisons between the 630.0 nm airglow data and GPS data demonstrate the ability of the compact dual frequency GPS array to detect the plasma bubbles and retrieve reliable propagation characteristics of the depletions. In this case study, a plasma depletion was detected and moved over the array at velocities of 85–110 m/s, slowing as it moved towards the east. Correlation of consecutive airglow images gives consistent estimates of the eastward drift over the same time period. Mapping the airglow data to the GPS line-of-sight geometry allows direct comparison and reveals a resolvable westward tilt of the plasma depletion that may be due to vertical shear. The uniqueness of this study is the ability to resolve locally the characteristics of the plasma depletion without relying on assumptions about the mapping of the depletion along magnetic field lines to large latitudinal distances. It presents new information for understanding ESF development and the development of depletions strong enough to produce scintillation.     

EUV-TEC proxy to describe ionospheric variability using satellite-borne solar EUV measurements: First results

Primary photoionisation of major ionospheric constituents is calculated from satellite-borne solar EUV measurements. Number densities of the background atmosphere are taken from the NRLMSISE-00 climatology. From the calculated ionisation rates, a proxy termed EUV-TEC, which is based on the global total ionisation is calculated, and describes the ionospheric response to solar EUV and its variability. The proxy is compared against the global mean ionospheric total electron content (TEC) derived from GPS data. Results show that the EUV-TEC proxy provides a better overall representation of global TEC than conventional solar indices like F10.7 do. The EUV-TEC proxy may be used for scientific research, and to describe the ionospheric effects on radio communication and navigation systems.     

两种GPS广播星历参数算法的比较

介绍了新GPS广播星历参数,分析了新旧GPS广播星历参数及其用户算法的区别,导出了卫星位置矢量对新GPS广播星历参数的偏导数,并与旧GPS广播星历参数偏导数进行了简要的比较分析.计算结果表明,两种GPS广播星历参数算法都能很好地描述MEO卫星的轨道特性,且广播星历参数拟合算法的精度损失仅为数厘米.      

Azimuth selection for sea level measurements using geodetic GPS receivers

Based on analysis of Global Positioning System (GPS) multipath signals recorded by a geodetic GPS receiver, GPS Reflectometry (GPS-R) has demonstrated unique advantages in relation to sea level monitoring. Founded on multipath reflectometry theory, sea level changes can be measured by GPS-R through spectral analysis of recorded signal-to-noise ratio data. However, prior to estimating multipath parameters, it is necessary to define azimuth and elevation angle mask to ensure the reflecting zones are on water. Here, a method is presented to address azimuth selection, a topic currently under active development in the field of GPS-R. Data from three test sites: the Kachemak Bay GPS site PBAY in Alaska (USA), Friday Harbor GPS site SC02 in the San Juan Islands (USA), and Brest Harbor GPS site BRST in Brest (France) are analyzed. These sites are located in different multipath environments, from a rural coastal area to a busy harbor, and they experience different tidal ranges. Estimates by the GPS tide gauges at azimuths selected by the presented method are compared with measurements from physical tide gauges and acceptable correspondence found for all three sites.     

Retrieval of the change of precipitable water vapor with zenith tropospheric delay in the Chinese mainland

As a preliminary step for assessing the impact of global positioning system (GPS) refractive delay data in numerical weather prediction (NWP) models, the GPS zenith tropospheric delays (ZTD) are analyzed from 28 permanent GPS sites in the Chinese mainland. The objectives are to estimate the GPS ZTD and their variability in this area. The differences between radiosonde precipitable water vapor (PWV) and GPS PWV have a standard deviation of 4 mm in delay, a bias of 0.24 mm in delay, and a correlation coefficient of 0.94. The correlation between GPS ZTD and radiosonde PWV amounts to 0.89, indicating that the variety of tropospheric zenith delay can reflect the change of precipitable water vapor. The good agreement also guarantees that the information provided by GPS will benefit the NWP models. The time series of GPS ZTD, which were derived continuously from 2002 to 2004, are used to analyze the change of precipitable water vapor in Chinese mainland. It shows that the general trend of GPS ZTD is diminishing from the south-east coastland to the north-west inland, which is in accordance with the distribution of Chinese annual amount of rainfall. The temporal distribution of GPS ZTD in the Chinese mainland is that the GPS ZTD reaches maximum in summer, and it reaches minimum in winter. The long term differences between the observational data sources require further study before GPS derived data become useful for climate studies.     

Optimal combination of InSAR and GPS for measuring interseismic crustal deformation

High spatial resolution measurements of interseismic deformation along major faults are critical for understanding the earthquake cycle and for assessing earthquake hazard. We propose a new remove/filter/restore technique to optimally combine GPS and InSAR data to measure interseismic crustal deformation, considering the spacing of GPS stations in California and the characteristics of interseismic signal and noise using InSAR. To constrain the longer wavelengths (>40 km) we use GPS measurements, combined with a dislocation model, and for the shorter wavelength information we rely on InSAR measurements. Expanding the standard techniques, which use a planar ramp to remove long wavelength error, we use a Gaussian filter technique. Our method has the advantage of increasing the signal-to-noise ratio, controlling the variance of atmosphere error, and being isotropic. Our theoretical analysis indicates this technique can improve the signal-to-noise ratio by up to 20%. We test this method along three segments of the San Andreas Fault (Southern section near Salton Sea, Creeping section near Parkfield and Mojave/Big Bend section near Los Angeles), and find improvements of 26%, 11% and 8% in these areas, respectively. Our data shows a zone of uplift to the west of the Creeping section of the San Andreas Fault and an area of subsidence near the city of Lancaster. This work suggests that after only 5 years of data collection, ALOS interferograms will provide a major improvement in measuring details of interseismic deformation.