Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) observations can precisely estimate the total zenith tropospheric delay (ZTD) and precipitable water vapour (PWV) for weather prediction and atmospheric research as a continuous and all-weather technique. However, apart from GNSS technique itself, estimations of ZTD and PWV are subject to effects of geophysical models with large uncertainties, particularly imprecise ocean tide models in Turkey. In this paper, GNSS data from Jan. 1<sup>st</sup> to Dec. 31<sup>st</sup> of 2014 are processed at 4 co-located GNSS stations (GISM, DIYB, GANM, and ADAN) with radiosonde from Turkish Met-Office along with several nearby IGS stations. The GAMIT/GLOBK software has been used to process GNSS data of 30-second sample using the Vienna Mapping Function and 10° elevation cut-off angle. Also tidal and non-tidal atmospheric pressure loadings (ATML) at the observation level are also applied in GAMIT/GLOBK. Several widely used ocean tide models are used to evaluate their effects on GNSS-estimated ZTD and PWV estimation, such as IERS recommended FES2004, NAO99b from a barotropic hydrodynamic model, CSR4.0 obtained from TOPEX/Poseidon altimetry with the model FES94.1 as the reference model and GOT00 which is again long wavelength adjustments of FES94.1 using TOPEX/Poseidon data at 0.5 by 0.5 degree grid. The ZTD and PWV computed from radiosonde profile observations are regarded as reference values for the comparison and validation. In the processing phase, five different strategies are taken without ocean tide model and with four aforementioned ocean tide models, respectively, which are used to evaluate ocean tide models effects on GNSS-estimated ZTD and PWV estimation through comparing with co-located Radiosonde. Results showed that ocean tide models have greatly affected the estimation of the ZTD in centimeter level and thus the precipitable water vapour in millimeter level, respectively at stations near coasts. The ocean tide model FES2004 that is the product of assimilation of the altimetric data of ERS2, TOPEX/POSEIDON and the data of a global tide gauge network, gave the most accurate results when compared to radiosonde with ±1.99 mm in PWV at stations near coastline. While other ocean tides models agree each other at millimeter level in PWV. However, at inland GNSS stations, ocean tide models have less effects on GNSS-estimated ZTD and PWV, e.g., with ±1.0 mm in ZTD and ±0.1 mm in PWV.
Modelling and Validation of the Precipitable Water Vapour from Zenith Wet Delay using Radiosonde and GNSS Data in the Central Arabian Peninsula
