Open-loop GPS signal tracking at low elevation angles from a ground-based observation site

Abstract. A 1-year data set of ground-based GPS signal observations aiming at geometric elevation angles below +2° is analysed. Within the "GLESER" measurement campaign about 2600 validated setting events were recorded by the "OpenGPS" open-loop tracking receiver at an observation site located at 52.3808° N, 13.0642° E between January and December 2014. The measurements confirm the feasibility of open-loop signal tracking down to geometric elevation angles of −1 to −1.5° extending the corresponding closed-loop tracking range by up to 1°. The study is based on the premise that observations of low-elevation events by a ground-based receiver may serve as test cases for space-based radio occultation measurements, even if the latter proceed at a significantly faster temporal scale. The results support the conclusion that the open-loop Doppler model has negligible influence on the derived carrier frequency profile for strong signal-to-noise density ratios above about 30 dB Hz. At lower signal levels, however, the OpenGPS receiver's dual-channel design, which tracks the same signal using two Doppler models differing by 10 Hz, uncovers a notable bias. The repeat patterns of the GPS orbit traces in terms of azimuth angle reveal characteristic signatures in both signal amplitude and Doppler frequency with respect to the topography close to the observation site. Mean vertical refractivity gradients, extracted from ECMWF meteorological fields, correlate weakly to moderately with observed signal amplitude fluctuations at geometric elevation angles between +1 and +2°. Results from multiple phase screen simulations support the interpretation that these fluctuations are at least partly produced by atmospheric multipath; at negative elevation angles diffraction at the ground surface seems to contribute.