Retrieval of Refractivity Profile with Ground-Based Radio Occultation by Using an Improved Harmony Search Algorithm

A ground-based radio occultation (RO) technique is proposed to retrieve the atmospheric refractivity profile around a specific region at a higher sampling rate than conventional space-based RO techniques, making it more suitable for regional weather studies. A harmony search (HS) algorithm with ensemble consideration (HS-EC) based on atmospheric physics is proposed to retrieve the refractivity profile more efficiently without being trapped in suboptimal solutions. The highest altitude of profile is extended to 95 km from 40 km adopted in conventional ground-based RO techniques, leading to more accurate results.