Detecting Signatures of Convective Storm Events in GNSS‐SNR: Two Case Studies From Summer 2021 in Switzerland

Abstract

Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) are not only a state-of-the-art sensor for positioning and navigation applications but also a valuable tool for remote sensing. Through the usage of L-band carrier frequencies, GNSS acts as an all-weather-operation system, offering substantial benefits compared to optical systems. Nevertheless, severe weather can still have an impact on the strength of signals received at a ground station, as we show in this study. We investigate GNSS Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) observations during two severe convective storm events over the city of Zurich, Switzerland. We make use of a GNSS-SNR-based algorithm originally developed for the detection of hail particles from volcanic eruptions. Results indicate that, although GNSS observations are considered to be fairly insensitive to the presence of hydrometeors, convective storm events are visible in SNR observations. SNR levels of affected satellites show a significant drop during event periods, which are determined by weather radar observations