Remote Sensing of the Water Vapor Time and Spatial Structure by the Satellite Navigation Systems Receivers Network

The paper presents the results of remote sensing of the integral moisture content in the atmosphere near the of Kazan city for an 11-year period. The main contribution to the variance of variations in the integral moisture content is made by seasonal variations, it is 63 percent. Mesoscale processes yield about 7 percent of the dispersion of moisture content. Synoptic processes make up 22 percent. It is shown that during periods of passage of atmospheric fronts, strong perturbations of the atmospheric moisture content field and the zenith tropospheric delay appear. Vertical profiles of the refraction index and partial pressure of water vapor, obtained using radio tomography using satellite navigation systems, also show an increase in disturbances. A relationship was found between the intensity of mesoscale fluctuations of the zenith tropospheric delay of radio waves and the pressure and temperature fields.