A simulation study of the effect of ionospheric vertical gradients on the neutral bending angle error for GNSS radio occultation

Radio Occultation based on Global Navigation Satellite System signals (GNSS RO) is an increasingly important remote sensing technique. Its measurements are used to derive parameter of the Earth's atmosphere, e.g., pressure, temperature and humidity, with good accuracy. The systematic residual error present on the data processing is related to ionospheric conditions, such as the distribution of electrons and the resultant vertical gradient. This study investigates the relationship between these parameters and the residual ionospheric error (RIE) on the retrieved bending angle in the stratosphere. Chapman function combined to sinusoidal perturbations are used to model electron density profiles and compared to RO retrievals of the ionosphere to perform the investigation. The results confirmed that the major ionospheric influence on the retrieval error is related to the F-layer electron density peak, whereas small-scale vertical structures play a minor role.