Precipitable Water Measurements Using GPS: A Case Study in Brazil

Luiz Fernando Sapucci

Abstract:	Among several GPS (Global Positioning System) applications, much of them are not explored by countries in development yet, due deficiency in its infrastructure. An example is the GPS meteorology, that being important for the quantification of the precipitable water, it has been used by the developed countries. With the employment of the continuously operating GPS networks, these countries increase the number of terrestrial stations of meteorological information collection in their territory. In the Southern Hemisphere, where there is a reduced number of meteorological stations, not only for the fact of the occupied areas by the oceans are larger than the continental areas, but also by the economic situation in some countries, the GPS is a good alternative in the quantification of the precipitable water. In this sense, Brazil assumes great importance because it is the largest country in territorial extension in the Southern Hemisphere, and it presents great potential for this technique, once it already possesses a continuously operating GPS network (RBMC). This paper presents the first results in the quantification of the precipitable water with the use of GPS in areas of the Brazilian territory. For this, a model that relates the mean temperature of the profile tropospheric and the surface temperature is presented, based on temperature profiles and pressure profile of radiosondes launched in Brazil.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 14th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GPS 2001) September 11 - 14, 2001 Salt Palace Convention Center Salt Lake City, UT
Pages:	1094 - 1098
Cite this article:	Sapucci, Luiz Fernando, "Precipitable Water Measurements Using GPS: A Case Study in Brazil," Proceedings of the 14th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GPS 2001), Salt Lake City, UT, September 2001, pp. 1094-1098.
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