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Volume 52 Supplement 11

Special Issue: Application of GPS and other space geodetic techniques to Earth Sciences (2)

Sensing atmospheric structure: Tropospheric tomographic results of the small-scale GPS campaign at the Onsala Space Observatory

Earth, Planets and Space volume 52, pages 941–945 (2000)Cite this article

Abstract

Tropospheric tomography using data from local networks of Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers is producing encouraging spatio-temporal representations of the wet refractivity field. In this work we present the results from a small-scale geodetic experiment that we carried out at the Onsala Space Observatory. Seven GPS receivers distributed within a radius of 3 km from the center, were deployed during 21 days in the summer 1998. The limited number of sites and their spatial configuration present a challenge for tropospheric tomography. Using novel GPS techniques to determine the vertical structure of the atmosphere, we observed, for one session, a strong horizontal water-vapor gradient with a leading edge at higher altitude than the trailing edge, entering from the north. The vertical structure obtained independently using tomographic techniques matched such situation. These results suggest tomography is a promising technique for the determination of the spatio-temporal structure of the atmosphere. We will present preliminary results of the tropospheric tomography, using simulations and experimental data, together with some comparisons with radiosonde data.

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Author notes

  1. A. Flores

    Present address: IEEC, Edif. Nexus, 204, Gran Catpita 2-4, 08034, Barcelona, Spain

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya, IEEC-CSIC, Spain

    A. Flores & A. Rius

  2. Onsala Space Observatory, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden

    L. P. Gradinarsky & G. Elgered

  3. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, MA, USA

    P. Elósegui & J. L. Davis

Authors
  1. A. Flores
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  2. L. P. Gradinarsky
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  3. P. Elósegui
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  4. G. Elgered
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  5. J. L. Davis
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  6. A. Rius
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to A. Flores.

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Flores, A., Gradinarsky, L.P., Elósegui, P. et al. Sensing atmospheric structure: Tropospheric tomographic results of the small-scale GPS campaign at the Onsala Space Observatory. Earth Planet Sp 52, 941–945 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03352309

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03352309

Keywords

  • Global Position System
  • Global Position System Receiver
  • Radiosonde Data
  • Zenith Delay
  • Atmospheric Structure