Improving the Wet Mapping Function by Numerical Weather Models


Doğan A. H., Zus F., Dick G., Wickert J., Schuh H., Durdag U. M., ...More

ADVANCES IN SPACE RESEARCH, vol.73, no.1, pp.404-413, 2024 (SCI-Expanded) identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 73 Issue: 1
  • Publication Date: 2024
  • Doi Number: 10.1016/j.asr.2023.07.060
  • Journal Name: ADVANCES IN SPACE RESEARCH
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, Aerospace Database, Artic & Antarctic Regions, Communication Abstracts, Compendex, INSPEC, MEDLINE, Metadex, Civil Engineering Abstracts
  • Page Numbers: pp.404-413
  • Yıldız Technical University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

In space geodetic techniques, the mapping functions (MFs) provide the relationship between zenith and slant tropospheric delays. The MFs are determined under the assumption of spherically layered atmosphere. However, the atmosphere is not spherically layered, and the asymmetry should be considered. Therefore, tropospheric gradients are taken into account. Nevertheless, tropospheric gradients alone can not fully represent the deviation from a spherically layered atmosphere, and hence cm level errors arise especially for low elevation angles. In this study, we present new approaches to modify the wet MF to reduce mismodelling of tropospheric delays. The delays in the study were calculated using ray-tracing algorithm based on ECMWF’s ERA5 dataset. We first analyzed the performances of the new approaches. Then, two Precise Point Positioning (PPP) simulation studies and a real case study were carried out for two different regions namely Germany and Türkiye. According to the results, the proposed approaches reduce the modelling errors up to by a factor 6 for both regions. Besides, simulation studies show that the approaches improve the accuracies of the ZTDs and heights. In the practical application however, we could not find a clear improvement in the PPP analyze and this might be related to the ERA5 which can not be regarded error-free.