scholarly journals Radio occultation bending angle anomalies during tropical cyclones

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1371-1395 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Biondi ◽  
T. Neubert ◽  
S. Syndergaard ◽  
J. Nielsen
Keyword(s):  
Radio Occultation ◽  
Lower Stratosphere ◽  
Time Window ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Atomic Clock ◽  
Space Station ◽  
Radiation Balance ◽  
Bending Angle ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
Gps Radio Occultation

Abstract. The tropical deep convection affects the radiation balance of the atmosphere changing the water vapor mixing ratio and the temperature of the upper troposphere lower stratosphere. The aim of this work is to better understand these processes and to investigate if severe storms leave a significant signature in radio occultation profiles in the tropical tropopause layer. Using tropical cyclone best track database and data from different GPS radio occultation missions (COSMIC, GRACE, CHAMP, SACC and GPSMET), we selected 1194 profiles in a time window of 3 h and a space window of 300 km from the eye of the cyclone. We show that the bending angle anomaly of a GPS radio occultation signal is typically larger than the climatology in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere and that a double tropopause during deep convection can easily be detected using this technique. Comparisons with co-located radiosondes, climatology of tropopause altitudes and GOES analyses are also shown to support the hypothesis that the bending angle anomaly can be used as an indicator of convective towers. The results are discussed in connection to the GPS radio occultation receiver which will be part of the Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space (ACES) payload on the International Space Station.

scholarly journals Radio occultation bending angle anomalies during tropical cyclones

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 1053-1060 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Biondi ◽  
T. Neubert ◽  
S. Syndergaard ◽  
J. K. Nielsen
Keyword(s):  
Radio Occultation ◽  
Lower Stratosphere ◽  
Time Window ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Atomic Clock ◽  
Space Station ◽  
Radiation Balance ◽  
Bending Angle ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
Gps Radio Occultation

Abstract. The tropical deep convection affects the radiation balance of the atmosphere changing the water vapor mixing ratio and the temperature of the upper troposphere lower stratosphere. The aim of this work is to better understand these processes and to investigate if severe storms leave a significant signature in radio occultation profiles in the tropical tropopause layer. Using tropical cyclone best track database and data from different GPS radio occultation missions (COSMIC, GRACE, CHAMP, SACC and GPSMET), we selected 1194 profiles in a time window of 3 h and a space window of 300 km from the eye of the cyclone. We show that the bending angle anomaly of a GPS radio occultation signal is typically larger than the climatology in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere and that a double tropopause during deep convection can easily be detected using this technique. Comparisons with co-located radiosondes, climatology of tropopause altitudes and GOES analyses are also shown to support the hypothesis that the bending angle anomaly can be used as an indicator of convective towers. The results are discussed in connection to the GPS radio occultation receiver which will be part of the Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space (ACES) payload on the International Space Station.

scholarly journals Evaluation of CMIP5 upper troposphere and lower stratosphere geopotential height with GPS radio occultation observations

2015 ◽  
Vol 120 (5) ◽  
pp. 1678-1689 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chi O. Ao ◽  
Jonathan H. Jiang ◽  
Anthony J. Mannucci ◽  
Hui Su ◽  
Olga Verkhoglyadova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Geopotential Height ◽  
Radio Occultation ◽  
Lower Stratosphere ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
Gps Radio Occultation

Intraseasonal temperature variability in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere from the GPS radio occultation measurements

2012 ◽  
Vol 117 (D15) ◽  
pp. n/a-n/a ◽  
Author(s):  
Baijun Tian ◽  
Chi O. Ao ◽  
Duane E. Waliser ◽  
Eric J. Fetzer ◽  
Anthony J. Mannucci ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Radio Occultation ◽  
Lower Stratosphere ◽  
Temperature Variability ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
Gps Radio Occultation

scholarly journals Global 3D Features of Error Variances of GPS Radio Occultation and Radiosonde Observations

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Xu Xu ◽  
Xiaolei Zou
Keyword(s):  
Radio Occultation ◽  
Weather Prediction ◽  
Lower Troposphere ◽  
Error Variance ◽  
Specific Humidity ◽  
Temperature Error ◽  
Observation Error ◽  
Bending Angle ◽  
Gps Radio Occultation ◽  
Low Latitudes

Global Positioning System (GPS) radio occultation (RO) and radiosonde (RS) observations are two major types of observations assimilated in numerical weather prediction (NWP) systems. Observation error variances are required input that determines the weightings given to observations in data assimilation. This study estimates the error variances of global GPS RO refractivity and bending angle and RS temperature and humidity observations at 521 selected RS stations using the three-cornered hat method with additional ERA-Interim reanalysis and Global Forecast System forecast data available from 1 January 2016 to 31 August 2019. The global distributions, of both RO and RS observation error variances, are analyzed in terms of vertical and latitudinal variations. Error variances of RO refractivity and bending angle and RS specific humidity in the lower troposphere, such as at 850 hPa (3.5 km impact height for the bending angle), all increase with decreasing latitude. The error variances of RO refractivity and bending angle and RS specific humidity can reach about 30 N-unit2, 3 × 10−6 rad2, and 2 (g kg−1)2, respectively. There is also a good symmetry of the error variances of both RO refractivity and bending angle with respect to the equator between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres at all vertical levels. In this study, we provide the mean error variances of refractivity and bending angle in every 5°-latitude band between the equator and 60°N, as well as every interval of 10 hPa pressure or 0.2 km impact height. The RS temperature error variance distribution differs from those of refractivity, bending angle, and humidity, which, at low latitudes, are smaller (less than 1 K2) than those in the midlatitudes (more than 3 K2). In the midlatitudes, the RS temperature error variances in North America are larger than those in East Asia and Europe, which may arise from different radiosonde types among the above three regions.

scholarly journals GPS radio occultation with TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X: sensitivity of lower troposphere sounding to the Open-Loop Doppler model

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 12719-12733 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Zus ◽  
G. Beyerle ◽  
S. Heise ◽  
T. Schmidt ◽  
J. Wickert
Keyword(s):  
Radio Occultation ◽  
Weather Prediction ◽  
Lower Troposphere ◽  
Systematic Difference ◽  
Open Loop ◽  
Negative Bias ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
Gps Radio Occultation ◽  
Global Positioning ◽  
Data Source

Abstract. The Global Positioning System (GPS) radio occultation (RO) technique provides valuable input for numerical weather prediction and is considered as a data source for climate related research. Numerous studies outline the high precision and accuracy of RO atmospheric soundings in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. In this altitude region (8–25 km) RO atmospheric soundings are considered to be free of any systematic error. In the tropical (30° S–30° N) Lower (<8 km) Troposphere (LT), this is not the case; systematic differences with respect to independent data sources exist and are still not completely understood. To date only little attention has been paid to the Open Loop (OL) Doppler model. Here we report on a RO experiment carried out on-board of the twin satellite configuration TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X which possibly explains to some extent biases in the tropical LT. In two sessions we altered the OL Doppler model aboard TanDEM-X by not more than ±5 Hz with respect to TerraSAR-X and compare collocated atmospheric refractivity profiles. We find a systematic difference in the retrieved refractivity. The bias mainly stems from the tropical LT; there the bias reaches up to ±1%. Hence, we conclude that the negative bias (several Hz) of the OL Doppler model aboard TerraSAR-X introduces a negative bias (in addition to the negative bias which is primarily caused by critical refraction) in our retrieved refractivity in the tropical LT.

scholarly journals The impact of overshooting deep convection on local transport and mixing in the tropical upper troposphere/lower stratosphere (UTLS)

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. 6467-6486 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Frey ◽  
R. Schofield ◽  
P. Hoor ◽  
D. Kunkel ◽  
F. Ravegnani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lower Stratosphere ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Horizontal Resolution ◽  
Transport Processes ◽  
Convective System ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
Tropical Tropopause Layer ◽  
Tropical Tropopause ◽  
Transport And Mixing ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. In this study we examine the simulated downward transport and mixing of stratospheric air into the upper tropical troposphere as observed on a research flight during the SCOUT-O3 campaign in connection with a deep convective system. We use the Advanced Research Weather and Research Forecasting (WRF-ARW) model with a horizontal resolution of 333 m to examine this downward transport. The simulation reproduces the deep convective system, its timing and overshooting altitudes reasonably well compared to radar and aircraft observations. Passive tracers initialised at pre-storm times indicate the downward transport of air from the stratosphere to the upper troposphere as well as upward transport from the boundary layer into the cloud anvils and overshooting tops. For example, a passive ozone tracer (i.e. a tracer not undergoing chemical processing) shows an enhancement in the upper troposphere of up to about 30 ppbv locally in the cloud, while the in situ measurements show an increase of 50 ppbv. However, the passive carbon monoxide tracer exhibits an increase, while the observations show a decrease of about 10 ppbv, indicative of an erroneous model representation of the transport processes in the tropical tropopause layer. Furthermore, it could point to insufficient entrainment and detrainment in the model. The simulation shows a general moistening of air in the lower stratosphere, but it also exhibits local dehydration features. Here we use the model to explain the processes causing the transport and also expose areas of inconsistencies between the model and observations.

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