Occultations for probing atmosphere and climate

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The use of occultation methodology for observing Earth's atmosphere and climate has expanded to include solar, lunar, stellar, navigation, and satellite crosslink methods. This approach provides atmospheric parameters such as temperature, density, pressure, water vapor, and ozone, along with trace gas species and particulate matter like aerosols and cloud liquid water. It also measures ionospheric electron density. Key advantages of these methods include self-calibration, high accuracy, vertical resolution, global coverage, and all-weather capability when using radio signals. Consequently, occultation data is invaluable for climate monitoring, atmospheric physics and chemistry, operational meteorology, space weather, and planetary science. This diversity has led to the emergence of various sub-communities within the occultation-related scientific community. The 1st International Workshop on Occultations for Probing Atmosphere and Climate (OPAC-1), held from September 16-20, 2002, in Graz, Austria, aimed to foster collaboration and knowledge sharing among these sub-communities. Approximately 80 participants from 17 countries engaged in a high-quality scientific program, creating a supportive atmosphere that met the workshop's goals.