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GPS, Occultation Systems

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Encyclopedia of Remote Sensing

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

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Synonyms

GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) occultation; GNSS Radio Occultation (GNSS RO); GPS Radio Occultation (GPS RO or GPSRO)

Definition

GPS/GNSS Radio Occultation. An atmospheric profiling technique whereby the amplitude and phase delay of the radio signals from the global positioning satellites are observed across the Earth’s limb as the satellites rise or set with respect to the receiving platform.

Introduction

A Global Positioning System (GPS) radio occultation (RO) system consists of a GPS receiver on a low-Earth-orbit spacecraft that is capable of tracking the radio signals transmitted by one of the GPS satellites as it rises or sets through the Earth’s atmosphere. For each occultation event, the recorded measurements consist of the time series of the carrier phase and the amplitude for each of the two GPS frequencies. With precise knowledge of orbits and clocks for the transmitter and receiver, these measurements can be directly inverted to derive a vertical profile...

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Acknowledgment

This research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the NASA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA

    Chi O. Ao

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  1. Chi O. Ao
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Correspondence to Chi O. Ao .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA

    Eni G. Njoku

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Ao, C.O. (2014). GPS, Occultation Systems. In: Njoku, E.G. (eds) Encyclopedia of Remote Sensing. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-36699-9_61

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