Small, Eric E. 1 ; Larson, Kristine M. 2
1 Geological Sciences, CU Boulder
2 Aerospace Engineering Sciences, CU Boulder
Data from NSF's EarthScope Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO), and similar GPS networks worldwide, can be used to monitor the terrestrial water cycle. GPS satellites transmit L-band microwave signals, which are strongly influenced by water at the surface of the Earth. GPS signals take two different paths: (1) the 'direct' signal travels from the satellite to the antenna; (2) the 'reflected' signal interacts with the Earth's surface before traveling to the antenna. The direct signal is used by geophysicists to measure the position of the antenna. By analyzing these GPS data over multiple years, the motion of the site can be estimated. The effects of reflected signals are generally ignored by geophysicists because they are small. This is not happenstance, as significant effort has been made to design and deploy a GPS antenna that suppresses ground reflections.
Our group has developed a new remote sensing technique to retrieve terrestrial water cycle variables from GPS data. We extract the water cycle products from signal strength data that measures the interference between the direct and reflected GPS signals. The sensing footprint is intermediate in scale between in situ observations and most remote sensing measurements. Snow depth, soil moisture, and an index of vegetation water content are estimated from data collected at over 400 PBO sites. The products are updated daily and are available online. Validation studies show that retrieved products are of sufficient quality to be used in a variety of applications. In order to improve the resolution of GPS water cycle products, we are also developing a new sensor especially designed to measure reflected GPS signals. This will yield a more sensitive instrument that costs an order of magnitude less than existing geodetic-quality GPS systems. Such a technology would have broad applications in both research and agricultural settings.