The uncertainty of the atmospheric integrated water vapour estimated from GNSS observations
Within the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) Reference Upper-Air Network (GRUAN) there is a need for an assessment of the uncertainty in the integrated water vapour (IWV) in the atmosphere estimated from ground-based global navigation satellite system (GNSS) observations. All relevant error sou...
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doaj-f8766568196c4d769af60dce0d08a6f12020-11-25T02:26:56ZengCopernicus PublicationsAtmospheric Measurement Techniques1867-13811867-85482016-01-0191799210.5194/amt-9-79-2016The uncertainty of the atmospheric integrated water vapour estimated from GNSS observationsT. Ning0J. Wang1G. Elgered2G. Dick3J. Wickert4M. Bradke5M. Sommer6R. Querel7D. Smale8Lantmäteriet (The Swedish Mapping, Cadastre and Land Registration Authority), 80182 Gävle, SwedenDepartment of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, University at Albany, SUNY, Albany, NY, USADepartment of Earth and Space Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology, Onsala Space Observatory, 43992 Onsala, SwedenSection GPS/Galileo Earth Observation, Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam, Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum (GFZ), Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, GermanySection GPS/Galileo Earth Observation, Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam, Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum (GFZ), Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, GermanySection GPS/Galileo Earth Observation, Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam, Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum (GFZ), Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, GermanyRichard-Aßmann-Observatorium, Deutscher Wetterdienst, Lindenberg, GermanyNational Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), State Highway 85, Lauder, Central Otago, New ZealandNational Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), State Highway 85, Lauder, Central Otago, New ZealandWithin the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) Reference Upper-Air Network (GRUAN) there is a need for an assessment of the uncertainty in the integrated water vapour (IWV) in the atmosphere estimated from ground-based global navigation satellite system (GNSS) observations. All relevant error sources in GNSS-derived IWV are therefore essential to be investigated. We present two approaches, a statistical and a theoretical analysis, for the assessment of the uncertainty of the IWV. The method is valuable for all applications of GNSS IWV data in atmospheric research and weather forecast. It will be implemented to the GNSS IWV data stream for GRUAN in order to assign a specific uncertainty to each data point. In addition, specific recommendations are made to GRUAN on hardware, software, and data processing practices to minimise the IWV uncertainty. By combining the uncertainties associated with the input variables in the estimations of the IWV, we calculated the IWV uncertainties for several GRUAN sites with different weather conditions. The results show a similar relative importance of all uncertainty contributions where the uncertainties in the zenith total delay (ZTD) dominate the error budget of the IWV, contributing over 75 % of the total IWV uncertainty. The impact of the uncertainty associated with the conversion factor between the IWV and the zenith wet delay (ZWD) is proportional to the amount of water vapour and increases slightly for moist weather conditions. The GRUAN GNSS IWV uncertainty data will provide a quantified confidence to be used for the validation of other measurement techniques.http://www.atmos-meas-tech.net/9/79/2016/amt-9-79-2016.pdf |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
T. Ning J. Wang G. Elgered G. Dick J. Wickert M. Bradke M. Sommer R. Querel D. Smale |
spellingShingle |
T. Ning J. Wang G. Elgered G. Dick J. Wickert M. Bradke M. Sommer R. Querel D. Smale The uncertainty of the atmospheric integrated water vapour estimated from GNSS observations Atmospheric Measurement Techniques |
author_facet |
T. Ning J. Wang G. Elgered G. Dick J. Wickert M. Bradke M. Sommer R. Querel D. Smale |
author_sort |
T. Ning |
title |
The uncertainty of the atmospheric integrated water vapour estimated from GNSS observations |
title_short |
The uncertainty of the atmospheric integrated water vapour estimated from GNSS observations |
title_full |
The uncertainty of the atmospheric integrated water vapour estimated from GNSS observations |
title_fullStr |
The uncertainty of the atmospheric integrated water vapour estimated from GNSS observations |
title_full_unstemmed |
The uncertainty of the atmospheric integrated water vapour estimated from GNSS observations |
title_sort |
uncertainty of the atmospheric integrated water vapour estimated from gnss observations |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
series |
Atmospheric Measurement Techniques |
issn |
1867-1381 1867-8548 |
publishDate |
2016-01-01 |
description |
Within the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) Reference Upper-Air
Network (GRUAN) there is a need for an assessment of the
uncertainty in the integrated water vapour (IWV) in the atmosphere
estimated from ground-based global navigation
satellite system (GNSS) observations. All relevant error
sources in GNSS-derived IWV are therefore essential to be
investigated. We present two approaches, a statistical and a
theoretical analysis, for the assessment of the uncertainty of the
IWV. The method is valuable for all applications of GNSS IWV data in
atmospheric research and weather forecast. It will be implemented to
the GNSS IWV data stream for GRUAN in order to assign a specific
uncertainty to each data point. In addition, specific
recommendations are made to GRUAN on hardware, software, and data
processing practices to minimise the IWV uncertainty. By combining
the uncertainties associated with the input variables in the
estimations of the IWV, we calculated the IWV uncertainties for
several GRUAN sites with different weather conditions. The results
show a similar relative importance of all uncertainty contributions
where the uncertainties in the zenith total delay (ZTD) dominate the
error budget of the IWV, contributing over 75 % of the total
IWV uncertainty. The impact of the uncertainty associated with the
conversion factor between the IWV and the zenith wet delay (ZWD) is
proportional to the amount of water vapour and increases slightly
for moist weather conditions. The GRUAN GNSS IWV uncertainty data
will provide a quantified confidence to be used for the validation
of other measurement techniques. |
url |
http://www.atmos-meas-tech.net/9/79/2016/amt-9-79-2016.pdf |
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