New applications and advances of the GPS radio occultation technology as recovered by analysis of the FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC and CHAMP data-base

Abstract

Comparative analysis of phase and amplitude variations of GPS radio-holograms allows one to separate the influence of the layered and irregular structures. A possibility exists to measure important parameters of internal waves: the intrinsic phase speed, the horizontal wind perturbations, and, under some assumptions, the intrinsic frequency as function of height in the atmosphere. A new technique was applied to measurements provided during CHAllenging Minisatellite Payload (CHAMP) and the Formosa Satellite-3/ Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC) radio occultation (RO) missions. As an example of this approach, we establish the atmospheric origin of amplitude and phase variations in the RO signal at altitudes 10-26 km. We observed for the first time in the RO practice examples of internal wave breaking at altitudes between 38 km and 45 km. We obtained geographical distributions and seasonal dependence of atmospheric wave activity with global coverage within the years 2001-2003. © 2009 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.