The refractivity derived from GPS/MET data in the troposphere depends on both water vapor and temperature. How is this ambiguity resolved to make the data useful in weather prediction or meteorology and climate research?
Given accurate measurements of refractivity, water vapor pressure may be calculated using an independent estimate of temperature. As shown by several studies, this calculation is relatively insensitive to small uncertainties in the temperature. For example, in the lower troposphere, water vapor pressure may be estimated to within 0.5 mb if the temperature is known within 2 K. Alternatively, refractivity or bending angles may be assimilated directly into numerical models in which case the temperature and water vapor adjust through the model’s dynamic and thermodynamic processes in a mutually consistent way toward atmospheric values.
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