A new method of retrieving atmospheric refractivity

Ollie Lewis; Chris Brunt; Malcolm Kitchen; Sean Healy; Neill Bowler

doi:10.1117/12.2672221

19 October 2023 A new method of retrieving atmospheric refractivity

Ollie Lewis, Chris Brunt, Malcolm Kitchen, Sean Healy, Neill Bowler

Proceedings Volume 12730, Remote Sensing of Clouds and the Atmosphere XXVIII; 127300G (2023) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2672221
Event: SPIE Remote Sensing, 2023, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Abstract

High-resolution humidity observations in the lower atmosphere are crucial to an accurate regional weather forecast. However, current remote sensing technologies are unable to adequately capture the full four-dimensional distribution of water vapour. For this reason, we propose the use of simple interferometers to measure the bending due to atmospheric refraction of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) radio signals routinely broadcast from commercial aircraft for air traffic control purposes. Variations in atmospheric refraction are strongly influenced by changes in humidity, which could allow detailed profiles of atmospheric water vapour to be constructed from numerous bending angle measurements. We present some early results from a prototype interferometer and explore how existing methods currently used to assimilate bending angles derived using radio occultation sounding could be adapted to assimilate observations of ADS-B refraction events. With thousands of flights across UK airspace every day and potentially modest instrument costs, there is the opportunity for millions of bending angle observations daily.

Conference Presentation

(2023) Published by SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Citation Download Citation

Ollie Lewis, Chris Brunt, Malcolm Kitchen, Sean Healy, and Neill Bowler "A new method of retrieving atmospheric refractivity", Proc. SPIE 12730, Remote Sensing of Clouds and the Atmosphere XXVIII, 127300G (19 October 2023); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2672221

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