Construction of a Global Atmospheric Refractivity Model for Optical Wavelengths Based on Temporal Evolution Characteristics
- 1School of Environmental Science and Optoelectronic Technology University of Science and Technology of China Hefei China
- 2State Key Laboratory of Laser Interaction with Matter Anhui Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics Hefei Institutes of Physical Science Chinese Academy of Sciences Hefei China
Abstract
Atmospheric refractivity model accuracy is important for refraction correction, starlight refraction navigation, and related optoelectronic applications. To address the insufficient understanding of refractivity temporal evolution and the lack of clear criteria for selecting model temporal resolution, this study constructs a global four‐dimensional gridded atmospheric refractivity data set from ERA5 reanalysis data for 2015–2024, with a spatial resolution of 0.25° × 0.25° and an hourly temporal resolution. Using this data set, we analyze the global latitudinal and longitudinal distributions, seasonal variability, and temporal evolution of refractivity at hourly, daily, and interannual scales. We further evaluate the effects of temporal span and statistical period on refractivity stability. Considering both model accuracy and data complexity, we construct the model using the 2015–2024 data set after applying monthly ±2σ outlier screening to the hourly refractivity samples at each grid point and height level, and adopt a 5‐day × 12‐hr temporal resolution for the global atmospheric refractivity model. Radiosonde observations from eight high‐latitude stations in both hemispheres are used to compare the proposed model with four commonly used atmospheric models. At the selected high‐latitude validation stations, the proposed model achieves lower RMSE values than the existing representative atmospheric models in several altitude ranges, particularly below 15 km and during Northern Hemisphere winter, while maintaining comparable performance at 20 and 25 km. The proposed temporal‐resolution selection scheme provides a useful reference for optimizing high‐precision global atmospheric refractivity models.
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BibTeX
@article{ding2026construction,
title = {{Construction of a Global Atmospheric Refractivity Model for Optical Wavelengths Based on Temporal Evolution Characteristics}},
author = {Zhiyan Ding and Pengfei Wu and Wenyue Zhu},
journal = {Earth and Space Science},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1029/2026ea005286},
url = {https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2026EA005286},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Construction of a Global Atmospheric Refractivity Model for Optical Wavelengths Based on Temporal Evolution Characteristics
AU - Zhiyan Ding
AU - Pengfei Wu
AU - Wenyue Zhu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/03
JO - Earth and Space Science
DO - 10.1029/2026ea005286
UR - https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2026EA005286
AB - Atmospheric refractivity model accuracy is important for refraction correction, starlight refraction navigation, and related optoelectronic applications. To address the insufficient understanding of refractivity temporal evolution and the lack of clear criteria for selecting model temporal resolution, this study constructs a global four‐dimensional gridded atmospheric refractivity data set from ERA5 reanalysis data for 2015–2024, with a spatial resolution of 0.25° × 0.25° and an hourly temporal resolution. Using this data set, we analyze the global latitudinal and longitudinal distributions, seasonal variability, and temporal evolution of refractivity at hourly, daily, and interannual scales. We further evaluate the effects of temporal span and statistical period on refractivity stability. Considering both model accuracy and data complexity, we construct the model using the 2015–2024 data set after applying monthly ±2σ outlier screening to the hourly refractivity samples at each grid point and height level, and adopt a 5‐day × 12‐hr temporal resolution for the global atmospheric refractivity model. Radiosonde observations from eight high‐latitude stations in both hemispheres are used to compare the proposed model with four commonly used atmospheric models. At the selected high‐latitude validation stations, the proposed model achieves lower RMSE values than the existing representative atmospheric models in several altitude ranges, particularly below 15 km and during Northern Hemisphere winter, while maintaining comparable performance at 20 and 25 km. The proposed temporal‐resolution selection scheme provides a useful reference for optimizing high‐precision global atmospheric refractivity models.
SN - 2333-5084
SN - 2333-5084
ER -