Sensitivity of Shipborne GNSS Troposphere Retrieval to Processing Parameters

Abstract

AbstractWater vapor is a key variable in meteorology and climate studies. Since the late 90s, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) estimates from ground antennas are commonly used for its description. Indeed, propagation delays are due to the transit of the signal through the atmosphere. The correction of these delays is a crucial step that is needed for the precise GNSS positioning. Integrated Water Vapor (IWV) contents are derived from these delays and are used to describe the distribution of water vapour in the atmosphere.However, severe meteorological phenomena often originate over the oceans and could strongly affect coastal regions. These phenomena are less well described or forecasted because of the small number of observations available in these regions. In this context, the potential of shipborne GNSS measurements has already been highlighted.This work aims at investigating the impact of some GNSS processing parameters on IWV retrieval from a shipborne antenna in PPP mode. The studied parameters are cutoff angle, random walk of the estimated delays, and observation weighting. Data were collected for 2 months in 2018 by the GNSS antenna of a vessel operating in the Bay of Brest, France. The impact of the parameters is assessed by comparing the shipborne GNSS-derived IWV to the IWV estimated from a close GNSS ground station, and those computed by the ERA5 reanalysis and operational radiosonde profiles from the nearest Météo-France station. The most satisfying parameterization is shown to have Root Mean Squared (RMS) differences of 0.5 kg m−2, 0.9 kg m−2, and 1.2 kg m−2 compared to GNSS ground station, ERA5, and radiosonde respectively. These conclusive results are also confirmed by comparing the GNSS height estimates to the measurements from the Brest tide gauge, with an RMS difference of 4.9 cm.