Effects of horizontal refractivity gradients on the accuracy of laser ranging to satellites

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Numerous formulas have been developed to partially correct laser ranging data for the effects of atmospheric refraction. These formulas all assume the atmospheric refractivity profile is spherically symmetric. The effects of horizontal refractivity gradients are investigated by ray tracing through spherically symmetric and three‐dimensional refractivity profiles. The profiles are constructed from radiosonde data. The results indicate that the horizontal gradients introduce an rms error of approximately 3 cm when the satellite is near 10° elevation. The error decreases to a few millimeters near zenith.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1037-1044
Number of pages8
JournalRadio Science
Volume11
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 1976
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • General Earth and Planetary Sciences
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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