Articles | Volume 25, issue 6
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3567-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3567-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Measurement report
| 
26 Mar 2025
Measurement report |
| 26 Mar 2025
| 26 Mar 2025
Measurement report: Can zenith wet delay from GNSS “see” atmospheric turbulence? Insights from case studies across diverse climate zones
Gaël Kermarrec
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Institute for Meteorology and Climatology, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Herrenhäuser Str. 2, Hanover, Germany
Xavier Calbet
AEMET, C/E Leonardo Prieto Castro 8, Ciudad Universitaria, Madrid, Spain
Zhiguo Deng
Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum GFZ, Wissenschaftspark Albert Einstein, Telegrafenberg, Potsdam, Germany
Cintia Carbajal Henken
Institute of Meteorology, Freie Universität Berlin, Carl-Heinrich-Weg 6–10, Berlin, Germany
Related authors
Gaël Kermarrec, Xavier Calbet, Nishant Pawar, and Zhiguo Deng
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-4148, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-4148, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP).
Short summary
Short summary
Every GNSS positioning station measures the overhead water vapour, and its fast fluctuations are usually discarded as noise. We show they track how patchy water vapour is, horizontally, near the top of the boundary layer, at scales of hundreds of metres to a few kilometres. Vertical sounding and reanalysis miss this structure. Because it is already measured worldwide, day and night, it offers a free new view of the moisture patterns that help set where convection begins.
Gaël Kermarrec, Xavier Calbet, Nishant Pawar, and Zhiguo Deng
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-4148, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-4148, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP).
Short summary
Short summary
Every GNSS positioning station measures the overhead water vapour, and its fast fluctuations are usually discarded as noise. We show they track how patchy water vapour is, horizontally, near the top of the boundary layer, at scales of hundreds of metres to a few kilometres. Vertical sounding and reanalysis miss this structure. Because it is already measured worldwide, day and night, it offers a free new view of the moisture patterns that help set where convection begins.
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Short summary
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Water vapour (WV) is a key ingredient in virtually all meteorological processes. We present an algorithm which uses observations of the Flexible Combined Imager (FCI) to estimate the total column of WV (TCWV) over sun-lit, clear-sky pixels. FCI is a satellite instrument, and every 10 min it takes an image which covers Europe, Africa, and the Atlantic with a resolution of 1 km. Such high-resolution WV fields will provide valuable information for weather forecasters and researchers.
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In a warmer future, water vapour will spend more time in the atmosphere, changing global rainfall patterns. In this study, we analysed the performance of 28 water vapour records between 1988 and 2014. We find sensitivity to surface warming generally outside expected ranges, attributed to breakpoints in individual record trends and differing representations of climate variability. The implication is that longer records are required for high confidence in assessing climate trends.
Xavier Calbet, Cintia Carbajal Henken, Sergio DeSouza-Machado, Bomin Sun, and Tony Reale
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 7105–7118, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-7105-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-7105-2022, 2022
Short summary
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Water vapor concentration in the atmosphere at small scales (< 6 km) is considered. The measurements show Gaussian random field behavior following Kolmogorov's theory of turbulence two-thirds law. These properties can be useful when estimating the water vapor variability within a given observed satellite scene or when different water vapor measurements have to be merged consistently.
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Short summary
Atmospheric delays affect global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signals. This study analyses the wet delay, a variable component caused by atmospheric water vapor, using a novel filtering method to examine small-scale turbulent variations. Case studies at five global stations revealed daily and seasonal turbulence patterns. This research will improve water vapour and cloud models, enhance nowcasting, and refine stochastic modelling for GNSS and very long baseline interferometry.
Atmospheric delays affect global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signals. This study analyses...
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