Comparison of the Characteristics of Precipitable Water Vapor Measured by Global Positioning System and Microwave Radiometer

Abstract

In this study, global positioning system (GPS)-derived precipitable water vapor (PWV) and microwave radiometer (MWR)-measured integrated water vapor (IWV) were compared and their characteristics were analyzed. Comparing those two quantities for two years from August 2009, we found that GPS PWV estimates were larger than MWR IWV. The average difference over the entire test period was 1.1 mm and the standard deviation was 1.2 mm. When the discrepancies between GPS PWV and MWR IWV were analyzed depending on season, the average difference was 0.7 mm and 1.9 mm in the winter and summer months, respectively. Thus, the average difference was about 2.5 times larger in summer than that in winter. However, MWR IWV measurements in the winter months were over-estimated than those in the summer months as the water vapor content got larger. The results of the diurnal analysis showed that MWR IWV was underestimated in the daytime, showing a difference of 0.8 mm. In the early morning hours, MWR IWV has a tendency to be over-estimated, with a difference of 1.3 mm with respect to GPS PWV.

Keywords

• global positioning system
• microwave radiometer
• precipitable water vapor
• diurnal variation