DNS (v1.0): an open-source ray-tracing tool for  space geodetic techniques

Zus, Florian; Balidakis, Kyriakos; Dogan, Ali Hasan; Thundathil, Rohith; Dick, Galina; Wickert, Jens

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-4951-2025

Articles | Volume 18, issue 15

https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-4951-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-4951-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 18, issue 15

Development and technical paper

|

13 Aug 2025

Development and technical paper |

| 13 Aug 2025

DNS (v1.0): an open-source ray-tracing tool for space geodetic techniques

Florian Zus, Kyriakos Balidakis, Ali Hasan Dogan, Rohith Thundathil, Galina Dick, and Jens Wickert

Data sets

Numerical(Space-)Weather Model dataset for the ray-tracing tool DNS Florian Zus https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15187660

Model code and software

DNS(v1.0): An open source ray-tracing tool for space geodetic techniques Florian Zus https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15044588

RADIATE ray-tracing code Florian Zus https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15180888

Short summary

Atmospheric signal propagation effects are one of the largest error sources in the analysis of space geodetic techniques. Inaccuracies in the modelling map into errors in positioning, navigation and timing. We describe the open-source ray-tracing tool DNS and show the two outstanding features of this tool compared to previous model developments: it can handle both the troposphere and the ionosphere, and it does so efficiently. This makes the tool perfectly suited for geoscientific applications.