GPSROZPBLS: Seasonal Planetary Boundary Layer Height from GPS Radio Occultation

A six-satellite constellation launched in 2006 provides global GPS radio occultation measurements for deriving planetary boundary layer height. The PBL height is calculated as the altitude where the vertical gradient of atmospheric refractivity is at a minimum, indicating the transition from the free troposphere. This seasonal average climatology product supersedes previous versions and is based on data from COSMIC/FORMOSAT-3, TerraSAR-X, KOMPSAT-5, and PAZ satellites.

Use Cases

• Analyzing seasonal variability in planetary boundary layer depth based on global radio occultation measurements.
• Validating climate and weather model simulations of boundary layer height using a satellite-derived climatology.
• Studying the transition zone between the free troposphere and the planetary boundary layer using refractivity gradient minima.

Strengths

• Derived from a multi-satellite constellation providing globally distributed measurements across different local times.
• Uses open-loop tracking of GPS signals through the lower troposphere, which is described as essential for high-quality PBL estimation at low latitudes.

Limitations

• Column names and data structure are not provided in any source description.
• The dataset's exact size, row count, and specific spatial resolution are unknown.
• A conflicting, unrelated dataset description for Antarctic ice shelf bathymetry appears on the same platforms, indicating potential metadata confusion.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Derived from GPS radio occultation measurements by the COSMIC/FORMOSAT-3, TerraSAR-X, KOMPSAT-5, and PAZ satellite constellations.

Time Range

Satellite constellation launched in 2006; product is a seasonal climatology.

Freshness

Last updated on 2026-04-10 according to datagov.

Geography

Global