GPS radio occultation with CHAMP, GRACE-A, SAC-C, TerraSAR-X, and FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC: Brief review of results from GFZ

Abstract

Several GPS Radio Occultation (RO) missions (GRACE-A (GRavity And Climate Experiment), FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC (FORMOsa SATellite mission-3/Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate), and MetOp) started data provision in 2006 and 2007. Together with the measurements from CHAMP (CHAllenging Minisatellite Payload, since 2001) and the recently launched (June 15, 2007) TerraSAR-X an operational multi-satellite constellation for precise GPS based atmospheric sounding became reality. The data base is supplemented by measurements from SAC-C (Satélite de Aplicaciones Científicas-C). Our contribution briefly reviews current GFZ activities regarding processing and application of GPS RO data from different satellites. These activities include precise satellite orbit determination and the provision of near-real time analysis results for weather forecast centers within 2 h after measurement. Available satellite data are used for climatological investigations of global gravity wave characteristics. © 2009 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.