Monitoring of ducting by using a ground-based GPS receiver

In this paper,we describe the estimation of low-altitude refractivity structure from simulation and real ground-based GPS delays.The vertical structure of the refractive environment is modeled using three parameters,i.e.,duct height,duct thickness,and duct slope.The refractivity model is implemented with a priori constraints on the duct height,thickness,and strength,which might be derived from soundings or numerical weather-prediction models.A ray propagation model maps the refractivity structure into a replica field.Replica fields are compared with the simulation observed data using a squarederror objective function.A global search for the three environmental parameters is performed using a genetic algorithm.The inversion is assessed by comparing the refractivity profiles from the radiosondes to those estimated.This technique could provide near-real-time estimation of the ducting effect.The results suggest that ground-based GPS provides significant atmospheric refractivity information,despite certain fundamental limitations of ground-based measurements.Radiosondes are typically launched just a few times daily.Consequently,estimates of temporally and spatially varying refractivity that assimilate GPS delays could substantially improve over-estimates caused by using radiosonde data alone.