Determination of an atmospheric state

• US 20060080038A1
• Filed: 09/30/2005
• Published: 04/13/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Deutsches Zentrum Fã¼R Luft- Und Raumfahrt E.V.
• Original Assignee: Deutsches Zentrum Fã¼R Luft- Und Raumfahrt E.V.
• Inventors: Borg, Erik, Stankov, Stanimir, Jakowski, Norbert, Klahn, Dietmar
• Granted Patent: US 7,502,689 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/2
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/14 specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/23 Testing, monitoring, correcting or calibrating of receiver elements

Abstract

A method for characterizing a state of a planetary atmosphere or of a part of the atmosphere, especially of the ionosphere of the earth includes determining values of an ionization state, especially of an electron density and/or of an electron content, in the atmosphere or in the part of the atmosphere as a function of a location variable and as a function of a time variable and determining at least one characteristic quantity for the atmosphere or the part of the atmosphere. The characteristic quantity is determined on the basis of the values of the ionization state found for the atmosphere or the part of the atmosphere.

Claims

1. A method for characterizing a state of one of a planetary atmosphere and a part of the planetary atmosphere, comprising the steps of:

determining a value of an ionization state in the one of a planetary atmosphere and a part of the planetary atmosphere as a function of a location variable and as a function of a time variable; and

determining a characteristic quantity for the one of a planetary atmosphere and a part of the planetary atmosphere from the determined value of an ionization state.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of determining a characteristic quantity comprises determining a value of the characteristic quantity for one of a specified time and a specified space of the one of a planetary atmosphere or a part of the planetary atmosphere.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of determining a characteristic quantity comprises predicting, for a point in time or period of time in the future, a characteristic quantity of the one of a planetary atmosphere or a part of the planetary atmosphere based on the determined value of the ionization state.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of determining the characteristic quantity comprises determining a derivative of an electron density or an electron content in the one of the atmosphere or in the part of the atmosphere with respect to at least one of time and space, and determining the characteristic quantity based on the derivative.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said step of determining the characteristic quantity includes evaluating the derivatives with respect to space, wherein the derivatives with respect to space comprise gradients in the direction of one of the geographic latitude and the geographic longitude of the planet.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of determining the characteristic quantity comprises using knowledge concerning a behavior of the atmosphere in one of space and time.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of determining a value of an ionization state comprises using a physical model which describes one of an electron content and an electron density in the of the one of a planetary atmosphere or a part of the planetary atmosphere, wherein the physical model uses a spatial and temporal quantization of the one of a planetary atmosphere or a part of the planetary atmosphere using in particular a grid point network, wherein a location or a volume area in the one of a planetary atmosphere or a part of the planetary atmosphere corresponds to each discrete location or partial volume of the model, and wherein a current or future value of a variable reconstructed by the physical model is assigned to each location or partial volume.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the value of the ionization state comprises an electron density or electron content determined by evaluation of one of propagation time of radio waves and a phase of carrier waves.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said step of determining a value of an ionization state comprises evaluating radio waves in a satellite-based global positioning system.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of using the determined characteristic quantity in the operation of a device which operates based on electromagnetic waves which propagate through the one of a planetary atmosphere or a part of the planetary atmosphere.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the device is part of a satellite-based positioning system or is used in combination with the satellite-based positioning system, said method further comprising the step of deciding not to use the signals of certain satellites, to use the signals only on a limited basis, or to correct the signals based on the determined characteristic quantity.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of determining a value of an ionization state comprises determining one of an electron density and an electron content of the one of a planetary atmosphere and a part of the planetary atmosphere.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the one of a planetary atmosphere or a part of the planetary atmosphere is the ionosphere of the earth.

14. An arrangement for characterizing a state of one of a planetary atmosphere or a part of the planetary atmosphere, comprising:

a device for determining a value of an ionization state in the one of a planetary atmosphere or a part of the planetary atmosphere as a function of a location variable and as a function of a time variable; and

a device for determining a characteristic quantity for the one of a planetary atmosphere or a part of the planetary atmosphere from the determined value of an ionization state.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein said device for determining a value of an ionization state determines one of an electron density and an electron content of the one of a planetary atmosphere and a part of the planetary atmosphere.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the one of a planetary atmosphere or a part of the planetary atmosphere is the ionosphere of the earth.