Severe Weather Events and Atmospheric Monitoring from Satellite Navigation Systems

Abstract

Atmospheric monitoring from global satellite navigation systems is usually used for estimating the atmospheric integral water vapor and measuring zenith tropospheric delay of satellite radio signals and its gradient parameters characterizing atmospheric mesoscale irregularities with a high temporal resolution. Based on a sample of several hundred severe weather events corresponding to available observations at the nearest satellite stations in the Republic of Tatarstan and Moscow region located at latitudes 55°–56° N, the work shows a significant variability of these atmospheric parameters associated with convective severe weather events. The inhomogeneity of the field of the zenith tropospheric delay of satellite signals is shown to strongly increase under the conditions of a severe weather event, which is manifested in the increase in its gradient parameters and their fluctuations, as well as in the growth of the integral water vapor. The intensity of fluctuations of the integral water vapor most strongly changes if a station is located not further than 20 km from a severe event, which is explained by the size of convective cells. However, even if a station is spaced up to 200 km apart from a severe event, an increase in the atmospheric integral water vapor and the amplification of inhomogeneity as compared to long-term average data are observed.