EO·Atlas
GNSS radio occultation
Retrieves vertical profiles of atmospheric refractivity, temperature, pressure, humidity, and ionospheric electron density from direct GNSS signals refracted through the atmospheric limb.
GNSS radio occultation uses a receiver on a low-Earth-orbit platform to track GNSS signals as they set or rise behind the atmospheric limb. Refraction along the limb path changes signal delay and bending angle; retrieval processing converts those measurements into refractivity and then into atmospheric temperature, humidity, pressure, and related profile products.[1][2]
This method is direct atmospheric and ionospheric sounding. It also supports space-weather profiling because the same occultation geometry can retrieve ionospheric electron density and total electron content products.[1][3]
GNSS radio occultation is distinct from GNSS reflectometry. Radio occultation uses direct signals refracted through the limb for vertical atmospheric and ionospheric profiles. GNSS reflectometry uses reflected navigation signals from the surface to retrieve ocean wind, soil moisture, sea-ice, or roughness properties.
Primary orbital route for vertical atmospheric and ionospheric profile retrieval from GNSS limb refraction.
No implementations recorded yet.
- [1]GNSS Radio Occultation, UCAR COSMICoperator engineering-2026-06-08
- [2]GPSRO monitoring, ECMWFagency doc-2026-06-08
- [3]Assessment of Solution-Agnostic Observational Needs for GNSS-RO Data, NOAA NESDISagency doc2023-06-142026-06-08
Edited from public sources. Last reviewed date pending by SpectraWorks editorial. See the data dictionary for field definitions.