Sensitivity Analysis of Atmospheric Delay Corrections for Satellite-Borne Laser Altimeter

An atmospheric delay correction model based on a ray-tracing algorithm and a surface pressure model arc proposed in this paper. As atmospheric parameters for the models, atmospheric data from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) arc introduced in the models for the numerical simulations of atmospheric delay corrections of satellite-borne laser altimeters. The result shows that the atmospheric correction along the zenith direction is approximately 2.30 m. By applying sensitivity factors, such as the temperature, precipitablc water, station height, and altitude angle, to analyze the sensitivity of the atmospheric delay correction, it is found that the atmospheric delay effect has a low sensitivity to the temperature and prccipitablc water, while has a strong sensitivity to the satellite altitude angle and station height. The results of this work can be used as a reference for determining the operable conditions for subsequent satellite-borne laser ranging research.