Definition
Radio Occultation (RO) : a satellite-based measuring technique providing globally distributed datasets of vertical profiles for atmospheric parameters such as density, pressure, temperature, and water vapor.
Introduction
In order to prove or disprove research arguments used in the discussions of climate change, large globally distributed datasets over a sufficiently large time interval are essential. In this respect, the radio occultation method, a satellite-based measuring technique, first suggested by a group at Stanford University in 1962, provides a globally distributed dataset of vertical profiles of a variety of atmospheric parameters such as density, pressure, temperature, and water vapor. Several satellites equipped with measuring instruments were launched into the Earth’s atmosphere; one of them was the German CHAllenging Minisatellite Payload (CHAMP) , which also provided the data used in this work. The radio occultation method, e.g., based...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
References and Reading
Bassiri, S., and Hajj, G. A., 1993. Higher-order ionospheric effects on the global positioning system observables and means of modelling them. Manuscripta Geodaetica, 18, 280–289.
Benzon, H.-H., and Gorbunov, M. E., 2012. Description of a wave propagator and radio occultation simulations. Technical report, EUMETSAT.
Blick, C., 2011. Spherical Spline Approximation and Its Application to Radio Occultation Data for Climate Monitoring. Diploma Thesis, University of Kaiserslautern, Geomathematics Group.
Blick, C., and Eberle, S., 2015. Radio occultation via satellites. In Freeden, W., Nashed, M. Z., and Sonar, T. (eds.), Handbook of Geomathematics, 2nd edn. Heidelberg: Springer.
Blick, C., and Freeden, W., 2011. Spherical spline application to radio occultation data. Journal of Geodetic Science, 1, 379–396.
Eberle, S., 2010. Mathematical Aspects of Climate Monitoring by Radio Occultation (RO). Diploma Thesis, University of Kaiserslautern, Geomathematics Group.
Freeden, W., 1981a. On spherical spline interpolation and approximation. Mathematical Methods in the Applied Sciences, 3, 551–575.
Freeden, W., 1981b. On approximation by harmonic splines. Manuscripta Geodaetica, 6, 193–244.
Freeden, W., and Schreiner, M., 2009. Spherical Functions of Mathematical Geosciences – A Scalar, Vectorial and Tensorial Setup. Berlin/Heidelberg: Springer.
Freeden, W., and Witte, B., 1982. A combined (spline-)interpolation and smoothing method for the determination of the external gravitational potential from heterogeneous data. Bulletin Géodésique, 56, 53–62.
Freeden, W., Gervens, T., and Schreiner, M., 1998. Constructive Approximation on the Sphere (With Applications to Geomathematics). Oxford: Oxford Science Publications, Clarendon Press.
Ge, S., 2006. GPS radio occultation and the role of atmospheric pressure on spaceborne gravity estimation over antarctica. Technical Report 479, Geodetic Science and Surveying, School of Earth Sciences, The Ohio State University, Colombus.
Hajj, G. A., Kursinski, E. R., Romans, L. J., Bertiger, W. I., and Leroy, S. S., 2002. A technical description of atmospheric sounding by gps occultation. Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, 64, 451–469.
Kursinski, E. R., and Hajj, G. A., 2001. A comparison of water vapor derived from gps occultations and global weather analysis. Journal of Geophysical Research, 106, 1113–1138.
Kursinski, E. R., Hajj, G. A., Leroy, S. S., and Herman, B., 2000. The GPS radio occultation technique. Terrestrial, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, 1, 53–114.
Melbourne, W. G., 2004. Radio Occultation Using Earth Satellites: A Wave Theory Treatment. Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell. Deep Space Communications and Navigation Series.
Melbourne, W. G., Davis, E., Duncan, C., Hajj, G. A., Hardy, K., Kursinski, E., Meehan, T., and Young, L., 1994. The Application of Spaceborne GPS to Atmospheric Limb Sounding and Global Change Monitoring. Pasadena: Publication 94–18, Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Smith, E. K., and Weintraub, S., 1953. The constants in the equation for atmospheric refractive index at radio frequencies. Proceedings of the IRE, 41, 103–1037.
Steiner, A. K., Hunt, D., Ho, S.-P., Kirchengast, G., Mannucci, A. J., Scherllin-Pirscher, B., Gleisner, H., von Engeln, A., Schmidt, T., Ao, C. O., Leroy, S. S., Herman, B., Kursinski, E. R., Foelsche, U., Gorbunov, M., Heise, S., Kuo, Y.-H., Labitzke, K. B., Marquardt, C., Rocken, C., Schreiner, W., Sokolovskiy, S., Syndergaard, S., and Wickert, J., 2013. Quantification of structural uncertainty in climate data records from GPS radio occultation. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 13, 1469–1484.
Syndergaard, S., 1999. Retrieval analysis and methodologies in atmospheric limb sounding using the GNSS radio occultation technique. Technical report, Danish Meteorological Institute.
Wee, T. K., Kuo, Y. H., and Lee, D. K., 2010. Development of a curved ray tracing method for modeling of phase paths from GPS radio occultation: a two-dimensional study. Journal of Geophysical Research, 115, D24119.
Wickert, J., 2002. Das CHAMP-Radiookkultationsexperiment: Algorithmen, Prozessierungssystem und erste Ergebnisse. PhD thesis, Karl-Franzens-Universität zu Graz, 2002. Scientific Technical Report STR02/07.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this entry
Cite this entry
Blick, C., Eberle, S., Freeden, W. (2015). Radio Occultation: Principles and Modeling. In: Grafarend, E. (eds) Encyclopedia of Geodesy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02370-0_122-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02370-0_122-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-02370-0
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Earth and Environm. ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences