Earth’s ionosphere responds dynamically over a wide range of temporal and spatial scales to changes in the magnetosphere and solar wind from above, and to neutral atmospheric dynamics from below. Determining the dynamics and coupling of Earth's magnetosphere, ionosphere, and atmosphere by vector magnetic field measurements at all altitudes is essential, as the field plays a major role in controlling the distribution of ionospheric plasma. It is difficult to measure the magnetic B-field, either locally or globally, at the altitudes of the upper mesosphere and lower thermosphere (UMLT) where the transfer of energy and momentum between the plasma and neutral components of the system occur. The 118-GHz imaging magnetometer will measure all four Stokes parameters as a function of frequency about the Zeeman-split center of the 118-GHz molecular oxygen line. We are developing an array of fully-polarimetric millimeterwave radiometer/spectrometers operating near 118 GHz. These low cost, low power, low mass polarimetric 118 GHz millimeter-wave array receivers do not require cooling to meet the sensitivity requirements. With digital spectrometers we will be able to integrate the complete end-to-end system. This work will enable a second generation small satellite mission with an off-nadir viewing instrument comprised of 120 such receivers (arranged so that each spot on the Earth is observed simultaneously by four receivers each) that will globally map the magnetic field in the mesosphere at 42-76 km altitude at a horizontal resolution ~100 km with 1-sigma error of 40-120 nT, in typical mesospheric temperature conditions.
Atmospheric soundings derived from Global Positioning System radio occultations (GPSRO) acquired in low-Earth orbit have the potential to be global climate benchmark observations of significant value to the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS). Geophysical observables such as atmospheric pressure and temperature are derived by measuring propagation delay induced by the atmosphere, a measurement whose fundamental unit-the second-is absolutely determined by calibration against atomic clocks. In this paper, we analyze the sources of systematic and random error for GPSRO soundings to determine the steps needed to establish GPSRO as a climate benchmark observation. Benchmarks require specific processing strategies and specific forms of documentation so that confidence in the accuracy and precision of the measurements is assured. Establishing calibration traceability to absolute standards (SI-traceability) is an essential strategy. We discuss a wide range of error sources in a geophysical retrieval, such as orbit determination error, signal delay in the Earth's ionosphere, and quality control strategies. Uncalibrated ionospheric delay is identified as the error source deserving the most attention in establishing SI-traceability of the retrievals, to meet stringent climate observation requirements of 0.5 K accuracy and 0.04 K stability. Profile comparisons from the recently launched COSMIC constellation establish strong upper limits on systematic error arising from the individual instruments. These encouraging results suggest that GPSRO should become a permanent resource for the GCOS. These highly precise and accurate instruments can be deployed on future Earth Observation satellites at a low per-sensor cost and minimal interference to existing and planned observational programs.
Anthony Mannucci, George Hajj, Byron Iijima, Attila Komjathy, Thomas Meehan, Xiao Qing Pi, Jeff Srinivasan, Bruce Tsurutani, Brian Wilson, Liwei Zhang, Mark Moldwin
KEYWORDS: Global Positioning System, Satellites, Plasma, Receivers, Antennas, Data modeling, Remote sensing, Solar radiation models, Solar processes, Tongue
Transmissions of the Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites can be used to measure the total electron content (TEC) between a receiver and several GPS satellites in view. This simple observable is yielding a wealth of new scientific information about ionosphere and plasmasphere dynamics. Data available from thousands of ground-based GPS receivers are used to image the large-scale and mesoscale ionospheric response to geospace forcings at high-precision covering all local times and latitudes. Complementary measurements from space-borne GPS receivers in low-Earth orbit provide information on both vertical and horizontal structure of the ionosphere/plasmasphere system. New flight hardware designs are being developed that permit simultaneous measurement of integrated electron content along new raypath orientations, including zenith, cross-track and nadir antenna orientations (the latter via bistatic reflection of the GPS signal off ocean surfaces). We will discuss a new data assimilation model of ionosphere, the Global Assimilative Ionosphere Model (GAIM), capable of integrating measurements from GPS and other sensors with a physics-based ionospheric model, to provide detailed global nowcasts of ionospheric structure, useful for science and applications. Finally, we discuss efforts underway to combine GPS space-based observations of plasmaspheric TEC, with ground-based magnetometer measurements, and satellite-based images from NASA's IMAGE satellite, to produce new dynamic models of the plasmasphere.
Atmospheric soundings using signals received in low Earth orbit from Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite transmissions are widely recognized as important data for establishing a precise climate record of upper-air temperatures, due to their self-calibrating nature and all-weather acquisition. More recently, advances in retrieval methods using the same GPS data have opened the possibility of new scientific studies related to atmospheric processes and climate change. We will present recent innovations in extracting scientifically useful information from the phase and amplitude of received GPS transmissions, and discuss the technical challenges that need to be overcome to achieve new scientific results. Promising areas being pursued include: remote sensing of the planetary boundary layer from space, important for understanding ocean-atmosphere coupling; retrieving tropopause temperature structure at high vertical resolution, important for understanding troposphere-stratosphere exchange mechanisms and the role of convection; high accuracy and precision of upper altitude (25+ km) retrievals in the stratosphere. Using an end-to-end simulator recently developed at JPL, we will investigate in realistic detail the relationship between the atmospheric state and retrieved scientific parameters, and discuss retrieval research needed to address new scientific applications.
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