Multi-GNSS Airborne Radio Occultation Observations as a Complement to Dropsondes in Atmospheric River Reconnaissance

Variations in the water vapor that atmospheric rivers (ARs) carry toward North America within Pacific storms strongly modulates the spatiotemporal distribution of west-coast precipitation. The AR Recon program was established to improve forecasts of landfalling Pacific-coast ARs and their associated precipitation. Dropsondes are deployed from weather reconnaissance aircraft and pressure sensors have been added to drifting ocean buoys to fill a major gap in standard weather observations, while research is being conducted on the potential for airborne Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) radio occultation (ARO) to also contribute to forecast improvement. ARO further expands the spatial coverage of the data collected during AR Recon flights. This study provides the first description of these data, which provide water vapor and temperature information typically as far as 300 km to the side of the aircraft. The first refractivity profiles from European Galileo satellites are provided and their accuracy is evaluated using the dropsondes. It is shown that spatial variations in the refractivity anomaly (difference from the climatological background) are modulated by AR features, including the low-level jet and tropopause fold, illustrating the potential for RO measurements to represent key AR characteristics. It is demonstrated that assimilation of ARO refractivity profiles can influence the moisture used as initial conditions in a high-resolution model. While the dropsonde measurements provide precise, in situ wind, temperature and water vapor vertical profiles beneath the aircraft, and the buoys provide surface pressure, ARO provides complementary thermodynamic information aloft in broad areas not otherwise sampled at no additional expendable cost.

Automated summary

Variations in water vapor carried by atmospheric rivers significantly affect west-coast precipitation, and the AR Recon program aims to improve forecasts by incorporating data from dropsondes, pressure sensors, and potentially airborne GNSS radio occultation. Studying AR characteristics and utilizing ARO technology can enhance forecast accuracy and provide valuable thermodynamic information at no additional cost.