Estimation of precipitable water vapor using GPS observations over SURVNET CORS stations in Uganda.

Abstract

Global Position System (GPS) has a function of accurate three-dimension navigation and orientation ,which has the character of detection in all time. With the rapid development and extensive application of GPS technology, deriving the Precipitable Water Vapor (PWV) of atmosphere from the observed data of GPS has already become a new detectable technology. In order to getting high precise calculated data to derive precipitable water vapor and offering a better service to weather forecast department, a highly accurate, professional – grade solving software and a correct operation technique are needed. This research discusses a method about high accuracy GPS data processing software (GAMIT_GLOBK) to solve the zenith total delay (ZTD) and to derive the atmospheric precipitable water vapor (PWV) over Survnet CORS using Vienna Mapping Function (VMF1) and GPT-50 as a priori zenith constraint.