GPS Antenna Calibration at the National Geodetic Survey

The precise point whose position is being measured when a GPS baseline is determined is generally assumed to be the phase center of the GPS antenna. However, the phase center of a GPS antenna is neither a physical point nor a stable point. For any given GPS antenna, the phase center will change with the changing direction of the signal from a satellite. Ideally, most of this phase center variation depends on satellite elevation. Azimuthal effects are only introduced by the local environment around each individual antenna site. These phase center variations affect the antenna offsets that are needed to connect GPS measurements to physical monuments. Ignoring these phase center variations can lead to serious (up to 10 cm) vertical errors. This article will describe the procedure by which the National Geodetic Survey is calibrating GPS antennas and how this information may be obtained and used to avoid problems from these antenna variations. ? 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A Methodology for Monitoring Vertical Dynamic Sub-Centimeter Displacments with GPS

This article describes a methodology to monitor dynamic vertical sub-centimeter displacement, of a GPS antenna. The dynamic movement of an antenna is determined by choosing the appropriate reference satellite for measurement differencing and by applying a FFT filter on the double-difference phase residuals. The validity of the method depends on the time variations of the GPS residuals and errors, such as, receiver noise, atmospheric contribution, multipath effects, and the antenna movement. This research is under development and results for simulated motion are presented here. ? 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

GPS周解坐标时间序列粗差剔除的策略分析

针对地震、地质构造活动或测站更换接收机或天线等原因导致时间序列中存在粗差的问题,该文通过对站点位置的时间序列的研究分析,可以获取板块运动规律、地球震荡周期变化等信息,这对维护和更新地球参考框架,探究和揭示大地构造变形运动过程、动力学机制及地震活动等相关科学问题具有十分重要的意义。对全球分布的34个IGS站周解坐标时间序列,分别采用3RMS准则和IQR准则进行粗差的剔除,得出低高纬度更适合3RMS准则,中纬度比较适合同时应用两准则结论,为后续研究提供了良好的数据基础。     

Estimating the motion of atmospheric water vapor using the Global Positioning System

Water vapor is both an important component in the atmosphere for the transport of energy and a noise source for space geodetic observations of the Earth's surface, such as from GPS and interferometric SAR (InSAR) measurements. GPS data collected from ground receivers are sensitive to the total amount of water vapor above the antenna and data from continuously operating GPS receivers are routinely used to estimate delays caused by atmospheric water vapor. Using these time series of atmospheric delay, we have estimated the motion of atmospheric water vapor above GPS networks. The motion above each site is determined by comparing the time series from different sites and estimating relative time offsets in these time series. These are then used to determine the velocity field of the atmospheric delays as they move across the network. We have compared the results with similar estimates inferred from geostationary satellite data and found clear correlation on several occasions. Such results can be useful for improving the understanding of the energy transport in the atmosphere, the spatial interpolation of water vapor, and for calibrating InSAR observations for delays caused by water vapor. Electronic Publication     

An open source GPS multipath simulator in Matlab/Octave

Multipath is detrimental for both GPS positioning and timing applications. However, the benefits of GPS multipath for reflectometry have become increasingly clear for monitoring soil moisture, snow depth, and vegetation growth. In positioning applications, a simulator can support multipath mitigation efforts in terms of, e.g., site selection, antenna design, receiver performance assessment, and in relating different observations to a common parameterization. For reflectometry, in order to convert observed multipath parameters into useable environmental products, it is important to be able to explicitly link the GPS observables to known characteristics of the GPS receiver/antenna and the reflecting environment. Existing GPS multipath software simulators are generally not readily available for the general scientific community to use and/or modify. Here, a simulator has been implemented in Matlab/Octave and is made available as open source code. It can produce signal-to-noise ratio, carrier phase, and code pseudorange observables, based on L1 and L2 carrier frequencies and C/A, P(Y), and L2C modulations. It couples different surface and antenna types with due consideration for polarization and coherence. In addition to offering predefined material types (water, concrete, soil, etc.), it allows certain dimensional properties to be varied, such as soil moisture and snow density.     

天线相位中心偏差对于GPS高程影响问题分析

GPS接收机天线相位中心与其几何中心不重合性构成了GPS接收机天线相位中心误差,如何减少相位中心偏移是天线设计和GPS数据处理中的重要问题。本文在分析GPS接收机天线相位中心在垂直方向上偏差的检测原理的基础上,讨论GPS天线相位中心垂直分量偏差对GPS高程精度的影响,应用实例得出一些有益的结论。     

受天线高影响的GPS测量精度分析

通过指出测量天线高的两种不规范操作,剖析了GPS天线高的测量方法及误差特性。而后首先从原理上分析了受天线高影响下的GPS基线和独立环闭合差的精度,然后通过某案例对数据进行处理,将两种受天线高影响下的上述测量成果与正常情况下的成果作比较,对理论分析进行证实。结果表明由天线高产生的粗差对短基线的测量成果影响较大,对长基线也有一定的影响。进而得出结论,即对于基线较短的校园GPS控制网,必须要重视对天线高的正确测量方法。而对工程单位布设的基线较长的GPS控制网,要获取高精度的定位成果,也不能忽视天线高的测量工作。     

Evaluating pseudorange multipath effects at stations in the National CORS Network

A preliminary study was conducted to evaluate the amount of pseudorange multipath at 390+ sites in the National Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS) Network. The National CORS Network is a cooperative effort involving over 110 different agencies, universities, and private companies who seek to make GPS data from dual-frequency receivers located throughout the United States and its territories available to the general public. For CORS users, pseudorange multipath can seriously degrade the accuracy of any application that relies on precise measurements of the pseudorange observable over a short period of time, including differential pseudorange navigation, kinematic and rapid-static surveying, and ionospheric monitoring. The main objectives of this study were to identify the most affected and least affected sites in the network, to closely investigate problematic sites, and to compare various receiver/antenna combinations. Dual-frequency carrier phase and pseudorange measurements were used to estimate the amount of L1 and L2 pseudorange multipath at each site over a one-year period. Some of the most severely affected sites were maritime Differential GPS and Nationwide Differential GPS (DGPS/NDGPS) sites. Photographs obtained for these sites verified the presence of transmission towers and other reflectors in close proximity to the GPS antennas. Plotting the variations of the L1 and L2 pseudorange multipath with respect to azimuth and elevation further verified that even above a 60° elevation angle there was still as much as five meters of pseudorange multipath at some sites. The least affected sites were the state networks installed in Ohio and Michigan; these sites used excellent antenna mounts, choke ring antennas, and new receiver technology. A comparison of the 12 most commonly used receiver/antenna combinations in the CORS Network indicated that newer receivers such as the Ashtech UZ-12, Leica RS-500, and Trimble 5700 help to significantly mitigate pseudorange multipath, while the receivers/antennas at some DGPS/NDGPS sites, and the antennas formerly used at the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) sites, are among those most affected by pseudorange multipath. The receiver/antenna comparison did not take into account the potential presence of reflectors at the sites (i.e., it is possible that a well-performing receiver/antenna combination could have been consistently placed at very poor site locations, and vice-versa).Product Disclaimer: Mention of a commercial company or product does not constitute an endorsement by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Use for publicity or advertisement purposes of information from this paper concerning proprietary products or the comparison of such products is not authorized.     

GPS天线转动测试系统的设计与应用

介绍了用于检测GPS接收机动态性能的天线转动测试系统,分析了天线圆周转,动引起的多普勒频移变化规律,提出了利用多普勒频移反推卫星仰角的基本方法,同时给出了利用该转动测试系统在检验GPS接收机动态测量精度和跟踪性能等方面的实际应用。     

天线相位中心改正对GPS精密单点定位的影响

GPS卫星与接收机由于自身特性以及机械加工等原因,导致其质量中心与相位中心不重合而产生相位中心误差,进而对GPS精密单点定位产生一定影响。介绍GPS天线相位中心偏移(PCO)、变化(PCV)的原理,并分析PCO、PCV,以及不同模型改正对GPS精密单点定位的影响。结果表明,在GPS精密单点定位中,天线相位中心改正不容忽略:在平面方向上,天线相位中心改正对定位影响较小,仅为毫米级;在高程方向上,天线相位中心改正对定位影响较大,可达厘米级;与相对中心改正模型相比,绝对相位中心改正模型精度更高。     

Comparison of Absolute and Relative Antenna Phase Center Variations

Three major GPS antenna calibration methods are available toda: the relative field calibrations using the GPS data collected on short baselines, the absolute field calibrations, where the GPS antenna is rotated and tilted by a robot, and calibration measurements in an anechoic chamber. Mean antenna offsets and the elevation-dependent phase center variations of GPS antennas determined by all three techniques are compared to assess their accuracy. The analysis of global GPS data with these sets of calibration values reveals that the offsets and variations of the satellite antenna phase centers have to be considered, too, to obtain a consistent picture. ? 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Quantitative evaluation of multipath rejection capabilities of GNSS antennas

Multipath error remains the largest error source in many high precision GPS applications. To counteract this problem, solutions at both software and hardware level have been studied. Software processing by means of measurement redundancy or error predictability can be used in order to mitigate the multipath effects. In general, these techniques work properly only when the length of a reflection path exceeds that of the direct path by more than 10–20 m. Unfortunately, in most cases, reflections are generated in the area near the receiving antenna. For this reason, multipath rejection actuated at the antenna level is one of the most valid means to improve the accuracy of GPS systems. The scope of this work is twofold. First, a review of low-multipath reception requirements will be proposed for comparing different classes of high precision GNSS antennas. Based on this discussion, we introduce a quantitative evaluation of multipath rejection capabilities of a GNSS antenna. The proposed assessment technique is focused on the antenna pattern, but, in contrast to other parameters evaluating the antenna radiation characteristics, it is specifically conceived to capture the effects of multipath signals.     

GPS天线相位中心偏差的数学模型

叙述了天线相位中心的检测方法．改进了GPS天线相位中心偏差的数学模型．在不考虑天线相位中心随卫星高度、方位角变化时该模型可以准确地计算出天线相位中心水平偏差大小与方向和垂直偏差的大小,从而提高了天线相位中心偏差的确定精度。实例表明,本文所提出的方法可以较准确地判断出天线相位中心水平偏差的大小与方向。     

Development and testing of a new ray-tracing approach to GNSS carrier-phase multipath modelling

Multipath is one of the most important error sources in Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) carrier-phase-based precise relative positioning. Its theoretical maximum is a quarter of the carrier wavelength (about 4.8 cm for the Global Positioning System (GPS) L1 carrier) and, although it rarely reaches this size, it must clearly be mitigated if millimetre-accuracy positioning is to be achieved. In most static applications, this may be accomplished by averaging over a sufficiently long period of observation, but in kinematic applications, a modelling approach must be used. This paper is concerned with one such approach: the use of ray-tracing to reconstruct the error and therefore remove it. In order to apply such an approach, it is necessary to have a detailed understanding of the signal transmitted from the satellite, the reflection process, the antenna characteristics and the way that the reflected and direct signal are processed within the receiver. This paper reviews all of these and introduces a formal ray-tracing method for multipath estimation based on precise knowledge of the satellite–reflector–antenna geometry and of the reflector material and antenna characteristics. It is validated experimentally using GPS signals reflected from metal, water and a brick building, and is shown to be able to model most of the main multipath characteristics. The method will have important practical applications for correcting for multipath in well-constrained environments (such as at base stations for local area GPS networks, at International GNSS Service (IGS) reference stations, and on spacecraft), and it can be used to simulate realistic multipath errors for various performance analyses in high-precision positioning.     

自适应调零天线技术在组合导航抗干扰中的应用

目前GPS／INS制导控制技术已成为精确制导武器的核心技术。根据GPS导航的特点及GPS／INS制导机理,对压制式干扰对GPS接收机的影响进行了分析,并分析了采用自适应调零天线技术来提高GPS／INS组合式导航抗干扰能力的有效性。     

Analysis of high-frequency multipath in 1-Hz GPS kinematic solutions

High-frequency multipath would be problematic for studies at seismic or antenna dynamical frequencies as one could mistakenly interpret them as signals. A simple procedure to identify high-frequency multipath from global positioning system (GPS) time series records is presented. For this purpose, data from four GPS base stations are analyzed using spectral analyses techniques. Additional data, such as TEQC report files of L1 pseudorange multipath, are also used to analyze the high-frequency multipath and confirmation of the high-frequency multipath inferred from the phase records. Results show that this simple procedure is effective in identification of high-frequency multipath. The inferred information can aid interpretation of multipath at the GPS site, and is important for a number of reasons. For example, the information can be used to study GPS site selections and/or installations.

Avoiding numerical stability problems of long duration DGPS/INS Kalman filters

A current pursuit of the geodetic community is the optimal integration of differential GPS (DGPS) and inertial navigation system (INS) data streams for precise and efficient position and gravity vector surveying. Therein a complete INS and multiple-antenna GPS receiver payload, mounted on a moving platform, is used in conjunction with a network of ground-fixed single antenna GPS receivers. This paper presents a complete, GPS-based, external updating measurement model for the applicable Kalman filter. The model utilizes four external observation types for every GPS satellite in-view: DGPS range differences, single phase differences, and single phase-rate differences; as well as the mobile, multipleantenna GPS receiver's measurement of theerrors in the INS's estimate of the phase difference between any two vehicle-borne GPS antennae. Although not widely conveyed in the geodetic world, the inertial navigation community has long known that traditional Kalman filter covariance propagation recurrences are inherently unstable when such highly accurate external updates are repeatedly applied (every 1 second) over long time durations. A hybrid square root covariance/U — D covariance factorization approach is a numerically stable alternative and is reviewed herein. The hybrid makeup of the algorithm is necessitated by the correlated nature of the fourth type of GPS external measurement listed above (each vehicle-borne GPS antenna formstwo baselines). Such measurement correlations require a functional transformation of the overall external updating model to permit the multiple updates (simultaneously available at each updating epoch) to be sequentially (and efficiently) processed. An appropriate transformation is given. Stable covariance propagation relationships are presented and the transformed Kalman gain is also furnished and its use in the determination of the externally updated error states is discussed. Specific DGPS/INS instabilities produced by the traditional recurrences are displayed. The stable alternative method requires about 25% more CPU time than the traditional Kalman recurrences. With the ever-increasing computational speeds of microprocessors, this added CPU time is of no real concern.     

GPS天线相位模型变化对高精度GPS测量解算的影响研究

GPS天线存在相位中心偏差,在高精度测量中必须对其进行补偿改正。本文针对GPS天线的两种改正模型:相对改正模型和绝对改正模型,在讨论了它们所具有的相同改正办法的基础上,分析了它们在测定方法上存在区别,最后通过一个算例分别研究了这两种模型对GPS测量解算精度的影响,得出了一些有意义的结论。     

GPS偏心观测及其精度分析

由于种种条件的限制，在很多情况下GPS天线都无法实现真正的对中，在某些特殊情况下，例如观测站必须与VLBI站或SLR站重合，而又无法在这些站的标志中心安设接收机天线，这就要求进行GPS偏心观测。本文将着重对GPS偏心观测归心元素的测定方法、归心改正数的计算以及归心元素的测定精度进行讨论和分析。     

GPS卫星和接收机天线绝对PCO、PCV对高精度基线解算的影响分析

在高精度GPS卫星导航数据处理中,卫星和接收机天线的PCO和PCV作为重要的误差来源之一,必须予以改正。本文从高精度基线解算入手,分析了卫星和接收机天线PCO和PCV中各项对高精度基线解算结果的影响。试验结果表明,接收机天线PCO、PCV对长基线或超长基线在各分量方向或长度上的影响最大可达到101 mm。卫星天线PCO、PCV对长基线在各分量方向或长度上的影响在毫米水平,最大不超过4 mm;对超长基线在各分量方向或长度上的影响最大可达到40 mm。