China is planning to construct a new global system for gathering high-precision meteorological data based on the interpretation of signals beamed from satellites, the second institute of the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation Ltd. (CASIC) has announced.

The "global occultation meteorological detection constellation" will measure the frequency, phase and amplitude of signals transmitted by navigation satellites, recording how they change after passing through the ionosphere and atmosphere. The resulting data will allow meteorologists to calculate information such as the temperature, humidity and pressure of the atmosphere.

The technique is capable of providing uniformly distributed neutral atmosphere and ionosphere information around the globe, permitting the monitoring and forecasting of the ionospheric environment, numerical weather forecasts, typhoon forecasts, near-space environment monitoring and aviation meteorology, according to the CASIC.

As one of the most promising methods of atmospheric detection, it has the advantages of high vertical resolution, long-term stability, global coverage and all-weather operations, making up for the inadequacies of traditional methods of meteorological observation.

Ma Jie, an official with the CASIC's second institute, said a test satellite for the detection constellation was launched into orbit in 2021 and is capable of detecting and generating nearly 1,000 atmospheric data profiles per day.