SuomiNet: A real-time national GPS network for atmospheric research and education

"SuomiNet," a university-based, real-time, national Global Positioning Syst em (GPS) network, is being developed for atmospheric research and education with funding from the National Science Foundation and with cost share from collaborating universities. The network, named to honor meteorological sat ellite pioneer Verner Suomi, will exploit the recently shown ability of gro und-based GPS receivers to make thousands of accurate upper- and lower-atmo spheric measurements per day. Phase delays induced in GPS signals by the io nosphere and neutral atmosphere can be measured with high precision simulta neously along a dozen or so GPS ray paths in the field of view. These delay s can be converted into integrated water vapor (if surface pressure data or estimates are available) and total electron content (TEC), along each GPS ray path. The resulting continuous, accurate, all-weather, real-time GPS mo isture data will help advance university research in mesoscale modeling and data assimilation, severe weather, precipitation, cloud dynamics, regional climate, and hydrology. Similarly, continuous, accurate, all weather, real -time TEC data have applications in modeling and prediction of severe terre strial and space weather, detection and forecasting of low-altitude ionosph eric scintillation activity and geomagnetic storm effects at ionospheric mi dlatitudes, and detection of ionospheric effects induced by a variety of ge ophysical events. SuomiNet data also have potential applications in coastal meteorology, providing ground truth for satellite radiometry, and detectio n of scintillation associated with atmospheric turbulence in the lower trop osphere. The goal of SuomiNet is to make large amounts of spatially and tem porally dense GPS-sensed atmospheric data widely available in real time, fo r academic research and education. Information on participation in SuomiNet is available via www.unidata.ucar.edu/suominet.