Overview: Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) are increasingly being used to address scientific problems related to the Earth and its atmosphere. Geophysicists and geodesists use GNSS observations to study plate tectonics, earthquakes, volcanoes, and glaciers. Atmospheric scientists can measure the refractive index of the atmosphere using GNSS observations and derive integrated water vapor observations (from ground based receivers) and density profiles (from space based receivers). A planning meeting is proposed to evaluate how high precision GNSS observations can be extended onto ocean platforms and what potential science questions these observations can address. These questions include, but are not limited to, the following topics:

• Do the continuous and all-weather water vapor observations from ocean platforms improve numerical weather forecasts, including hurricane intensity forecasts?
• Can satellite observations be improved and calibrated using vertically integrated PW estimates from ocean systems?
• Do satellite ocean altimetry observations benefit from ground truth observations in open oceans?
• Can GPS signals that reflect off the ocean surface be used to measure wave heights and surface roughness?
• Does precise monitoring of buoy motion provide a method to detect tsunamis?
• Can GNSS observations from buoys, oil platforms, and ships can be used to supplement satellite observations, especially in sampling diurnal signals of the ocean and atmosphere?

This two and a half day workshop will identify a number of key science questions, evaluate current observational capabilities, discuss logistical considerations, and measure the level of interest in pursuing a possible deployment of GNSS equipment on ocean platforms.

For more information please go to: http://www.joss.ucar.edu/joss_psg/meetings/Meetings_2008/ocean_workshop/index.html.