May 2026 - Announcements - lists.irowg.org

Sentinel-6 B RO NRT BUFR product release on GTS
by Galley, Chad R (US 3620) 22 May '26

22 May '26

Dear NWP centers, The Sentinel-6 project is pleased to announce the release of the Sentinel-6 B RO NRT Levels 1b & 2 BUFR products on GTS starting Thursday, May 21, 2026. BUFR products from the first satellite, Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich (“MF”, also known as “A”), will continue to be made available on GTS. S6-B and S6-MF are currently flying in tandem with a 30-second orbital separation. As a result, the RO measurements from both satellites are closely collocated. The satellites will be in this tandem phase until S6-MF is moved to a different orbit, which will happen no earlier than October 2026 and possibly by January 2027 (TBC). We will follow-up with another announcement when S6-MF has been moved to its new orbit at which point data from both satellites will no longer be collocated. Validation The GNSS-RO instrument has been working nominally on S6-B with antenna beam-forming enabled, producing SNRs comparable to COSMIC-2 setting occultations. Rising occultations have lower SNRs than COSMIC-2 due to the smaller fore-looking RO antenna on the Sentinel-6 satellites. As of this writing, the average number of NRT BUFR products generated per day is about 1100. Comparisons with ECMWF and NCEP models of the retrieved bending angle profiles in the core region around 15-40 km show performance characteristics for both Sentinel-6 satellites that are similar to other validated GNSS-RO missions with a bias less than 0.1% in magnitude. The Sentinel-6 B BUFR products have been assessed by partner NWP centers, which include NOAA, ECMWF, UK Met Office, Météo France, DWD, ECCC, and JCSDA, and were deemed to be of sufficient quality for weather forecasting purposes. NWP partners have recommended their release on GTS for weather forecasting purposes. WMO Routing Headers The abbreviated WMO headers for the products from Sentinel-6 B are: Abbreviated WMO header Source Comments IPXB01 KWBC Sentinel-6 B BUFR product generated from NASA/JPL’s RO primary processor Frequently used IPXB02 KWBC Sentinel-6 B BUFR product generated from NASA/JPL’s RO back-up processor Rarely used BUFR products will be delivered from the primary processor unless an issue is encountered during operational processing that prevents product generation and/or distribution from the primary site. In such an event, products will be delivered from the back-up processor using the corresponding WMO routing header listed in the table above. The satellite code in the BUFR product for Sentinel-6 B is 67. Please let us know if you have any questions or encounter any issues with the new Sentinel-6 B data. Best, Chad, on behalf of the Sentinel-6 RO team [JPL logo] Chad Galley Technologist 362G | Near Earth Tracking Systems JPL 4800 Oak Grove Drive Pasadena, CA 91109 Mail Stop 238-600 M: 410.491.0024 O: 818.354.1013 F: 818.393.4965 chad.r.galley(a)jpl.nasa.gov<mailto:chad.r.galley@jpl.nasa.gov>

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Job announcement on GNSS Reflectometry at GFZ
by Jens Wickert 22 May '26

22 May '26

Dear colleagues, we are happy to announce an interesting job advertisement at GFZ. It is a key position for our activities in GNSS Reflectometry. https://www.gfz.de/en/career/job-offers/details/11262 We would be very grateful if you could spread it or even maybe take into consideration application. Thanks in advance and have a great day! Jens Wickert --------------------------------------- Prof. Dr. Jens Wickert GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences Section 1.1 Space Geodetic Techniques wickert(a)gfz.de <mailto:wickert@gfz.de> ----------------------------------------

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Invite you to submit your recent results to the Remote Sensing GNSS RO special issue
by Shu-peng Ho - NOAA Federal 07 May '26

07 May '26

Dear Colleagues, This is shu-peng Ben Ho from NOAA/STAR. You are cordially invited to submit your recent studies on GNSS RO to the Remote Sensing GNSS RO special issue ( https://www.mdpi.com/journal/remotesensing/special_issues/31G3890CC5#editors ). This Special Issue is designed to highlight a pivotal phase in the evolution of GNSS radio occultation. The field is moving beyond merely demonstrating broad usefulness—it is now increasingly defined by deeper scientific and technological questions, including bias diagnosis, uncertainty characterization, multi-mission consistency, lower-atmospheric retrieval challenges, operational value in numerical weather prediction, and emerging roles in ionospheric and space weather applications. With the rapid expansion of commercial constellations, international missions, and advanced processing approaches, GNSS RO is evolving from a mature observing technique into a more accurate, traceable, and integrable benchmark for remote sensing observations of Earth systems. This Special Issue aims to collect high-quality contributions that advance GNSS RO through methodological innovation, observational physics insights, rigorous inter-mission assessment, impactful applications, and the use of AI to improve the RO retrievals. This Special Issue will focus on recent advances in GNSS radio occultation in remote sensing, with particular emphasis on observational physics, bias and uncertainty diagnosis, multi-mission harmonization, advanced retrieval methods, and innovative applications in weather, climate, boundary-layer studies, high-impact events, ionospheric research, and space weather. We especially welcome contributions that address the following broader questions: How should GNSS RO observation errors and biases be characterized? How can consistency and long-term comparability be established across missions and processing systems? How can lower-tropospheric and boundary-layer retrieval be further improved? In what ways can GNSS RO serve as a benchmark for data assimilation and model evaluation? How might new signals, commercial constellations, AI-based methods, and future observing-system designs reshape the field? The Special Issue welcomes original research articles, review papers, and perspective articles covering, but not limited to, neutral atmospheric and ionospheric GNSS RO observations, retrievals, validation, data quality control, standardization, application assessment, and future system concepts. Topics include, but are not limited to, the following: - GNSS RO observation bias, uncertainty quantification, and error characterization; - Multi-mission consistency, harmonization, and climate data record development; - Geometry-related effects, tangent-point drift, antenna-viewing dependencies, and non-sphericity; - Advances in lower-tropospheric and boundary-layer GNSS RO retrieval; - GNSS RO data assimilation in global, regional, and convective-scale NWP; - GNSS RO as a benchmark observation for weather and climate model evaluation; - GNSS RO applications to tropical cyclones, heavy rainfall, severe weather, and other high-impact events; - Scientific and operational assessment of commercial GNSS RO constellations; - Ionospheric GNSS RO, TEC retrieval, and space weather applications; - AI, machine learning, and advanced inverse methods for GNSS RO; - Next-generation GNSS signals, receiver technologies, and future observing-system design; - Data quality control, metadata standards, reproducibility, and best practices in GNSS RO science; - The use of AI to improve the RO retrievals. Dr. Shu-peng Ho Dr. Michael E. Gorbunov *Guest Editors* *Manuscript Submission Information* Manuscripts should be submitted online at *www.mdpi.com* <https://www.mdpi.com/> by *registering* <https://www.mdpi.com/user/register/> and *logging in to this website* <https://www.mdpi.com/user/login/>. Once you are registered, *click here to go to the submission form* <https://susy.mdpi.com/user/manuscripts/upload/?journal=remotesensing>. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles, and short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment. Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-masked peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for manuscript submission are available on the *Instructions for Authors* <https://www.mdpi.com/journal/remotesensing/instructions> page. *Remote Sensing* <https://www.mdpi.com/journal/remotesensing/> is an international, peer-reviewed, open-access, semimonthly journal published by MDPI. Please visit the *Instructions for Authors* <https://www.mdpi.com/journal/remotesensing/instructions> page before submitting a manuscript. The *Article Processing Charge (APC)* <https://www.mdpi.com/about/apc/> for publication in this *open-access* <https://www.mdpi.com/about/openaccess/> journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's *English editing service* <https://www.mdpi.com/authors/english> before publication or during author revisions. *Keywords* - GNSS RO - boundary-layer retrievals - weather applications - atmospheric applications - benchmark observation for weather and climate model evaluation - AI applications on RO inversion *==============================================* *Shu-peng Ben Ho, Ph. D.* *GNSS Radio Occultation Physical** Scientist* *NOAA Center for Satellite Applications and Research (STAR)* *NCWCP, E/RA-21 Office# 2824* *5830 University Research Court, * *Riverdale Park, MD 20737* *Tel : (301) 683-3596* *Email: shu-peng.ho(a)noaa.gov <shu-peng.ho(a)noaa.gov>* *STAR GNSS RO Center: **https://gpsmet.umd.edu/gnssro/index.php <https://gpsmet.umd.edu/gnssro/index.php>* *STAR GNSS RO Data Service: **https://gpsmet.umd.edu/gnssro/download.php <https://gpsmet.umd.edu/gnssro/download.php>* *Publication: researchgate.net/profile/Shu-Peng-Ho/publications <http://researchgate.net/profile/Shu-Peng-Ho/publications>* *==============================================*

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Reminder: OPAC-IROWG 2026 Workshop, 10-16 Sept 2026, Austria, call for papers
by Ulrich Foelsche 05 May '26

05 May '26

================================================ Reminder: Call for Papers, April 29, 2026 We are pleased to announce: *OPAC-IROWG 2026* International Workshop on Occultations for Probing Atmosphere and Climate Joint OPAC-8 & IROWG-11 Workshop *September 10-16, 2026, Seggau Castle*, Leibnitz near Graz, Austria https://opacirowg2026.uni-graz.at/en/ Please be aware that the deadline - *May 3, 2026* - is quickly approaching https://opacirowg2026.uni-graz.at/en/abstract-submission/ There is very limited space for a deadline extension, since the *block reservation* at Seggau Castle is only secured until *May 31 *(promotion code: OPAC2026). U. Foelsche, J. Danzer, M. Schwärz, (WEGC & IPhys UniGraz, AT), OPAC Chairs H. Shao (JCSDA and UCAR, transitioning to Naval Research Lab., USA), IROWG Co-Chair A.J. Mannucci (JPL, Pasadena, USA), IROWG-CGMS Rapporteur ================================================== -- ************************************************************************** - Ulrich Foelsche - University of Graz - Institute of Physics, Department of Astrophysics and Geophysics (AGP) - Universitaetsplatz 5, 8010 Graz, Austria - Wegener Center for Climate and Global Change (WEGC) - Brandhofgasse 5, 8010 Graz, Austria - Tel: +43-316-380-8590 - E-mail: ulrich.foelsche(a)uni-graz.at **************************************************************************

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