The International DORIS Service: genesis and early achievements

All space-geodetic techniques are now organized as separate services of the International Association of Geodesy (IAG), supporting the first pilot project “Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS)”. The International DORIS (Détermination d’Orbite et Radiopositionnement Intégrés par Satellite) Service (IDS) was created in mid-2003 to organize a DORIS contribution to this project and to foster a larger international cooperation on this topic. The goal of this paper is to summarize the key steps that were taken to create this structure and to present its current organization and recent results. At present, more than 50 groups from 35 different countries participate in the IDS at various levels, including 43 groups hosting DORIS stations in 32 countries all around the globe. Four Analysis Centres (ACs) provide results, such as estimates of weekly or monthly station coordinates, geocentre variations or Earth polar motion, that will soon be used to generate IDS-combined products for geodesy and geodynamics. As a first test, a preliminary combination was performed for all the 2004 data from these four ACs. Three of them show RMS of weighted station residuals with respect to this combination solution between 1 and 2 cm. The main topic under investigation is a discrepancy in the scale factor of the terrestrial reference frame (TRF) to map the individual solutions into the combination solution, which reaches 6 cm (multiplying the unit-less scale factor by the Earth radius to get convert scale to millimetre in vertical at the Earth’s surface). Finally, foreseen improvements of the DORIS technology are discussed as well as future improvements concerning the service organization itself and the accuracy and reliability of its scientific products.     

Plate Motion of India and Interseismic Strain in the Nepal Himalaya from GPS and DORIS Measurements

We analyse geodetically estimated deformation across the Nepal Himalaya in order to determine the geodetic rate of shortening between Southern Tibet and India, previously proposed to range from 12 to 21 mm yr^?1. The dataset includes spirit-levelling data along a road going from the Indian to the Tibetan border across Central Nepal, data from the DORIS station on Everest, which has been analysed since 1993, GPS campaign measurements from surveys carried on between 1995 and 2001, as well as data from continuous GPS stations along a transect at the logitude of Kathmandu operated continuously since 1997. The GPS data were processed in International Terrestrial Reference Frame 2000 (ITRF2000), together with the data from 20 International GNSS Service (IGS) stations and then combined using quasi- observation combination analysis (QOCA). Finally, spatially complementary velocities at stations in Southern Tibet, initially determined in ITRF97, were expressed in ITRF2000. After analysing previous studies by different authors, we determined the pole of rotation of the Indian tectonic plate to be located in ITRF2000 at 51.409±1.560° N and ?10.915±5.556°E, with an angular velocity of 0.483±0.015°. Myr^?1. Internal deformation of India is found to be small, corresponding to less than about 2 mm yr^?1 of baseline change between Southern India and the Himalayan piedmont. Based on an elastic dislocation model of interseismic strain and taking into account the uncertainty on India plate motion, the mean convergence rate across Central and Eastern Nepal is estimated to 19±2.5 mm yr^?1, (at the 67% confidence level). The main himalayan thrust (MHT) fault was found to be locked from the surface to a depth of about 20 km over a width of about 115 km. In these regions, the model parameters are well constrained, thanks to the long and continuous time-series from the permanent GPS as well as DORIS data. Further west, a convergence rate of 13.4±5 mm yr^?1, as well as a fault zone, locked over 150 km, are proposed. The slight discrepancy between the geologically estimated deformation rate of 21±1.5 mm yr^?1 and the 19±2.5 mm yr^?1 geodetic rate in Central and Eastern Nepal, as well as the lower geodetic rate in Western Nepal compared to Eastern Nepal, places bounds on possible temporal variations of the pattern and rate of strain in the period between large earthquakes in this region.     

A model of present-day tectonic plate motions from 12 years of DORIS measurements

In the frame of the International DORIS Service (IDS), the Laboratoire d’Etudes en Géophysique et Océanographie Spatiales (LEGOS)/Collecte Localisation Satellites (CLS) Analysis Center (LCA) processes DORIS measurements from the SPOT, TOPEX/Poseidon and Envisat satellites and provides weekly station coordinates of the whole network to the IDS. Based on DORIS measurements, the horizontal and vertical velocities of 57 DORIS sites are computed. The 3D positions and velocities of the stations with linear motion are estimated simultaneously from the 12-year (1993–2004) combined normal equation matrix. We include 35 DORIS sites assumed to be located in the stable zones of 9 tectonic plates. For the motion of these plates, we propose a model (LCAVEL-1) of angular velocities in the ITRF2000 reference frame. Based on external comparison with the most recent global plate models (PB2002, REVEL, GSRM-1 and APKIM2000) and on internal analysis, we estimate an average velocity error of the DORIS solution of less than 3 mm/year. The LCAVEL-1 model presents new insights of the Somalia/Nubia pair of plates, as the DORIS technique has the advantage of having a few stations located on those two plates. We also computed (and provide in this article) the horizontal motion of the sites located close to plate boundaries or in the deformation zones defined in contemporary models. These computations could be used in further analysis for these particular regions of the Earth not moving as rigid plates.     

DORIS Contribution to ITRF2005

We examine the contribution of the Doppler Orbit determination and Radiopositioning Integrated by Satellite (DORIS) technique to the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF2005) by evaluating the quality of the submitted solutions as well as that of the frame parameters, especially the origin and the scale. Unlike the previous versions of the ITRF, ITRF2005 is constructed with input data in the form of time-series of station positions (weekly for satellite techniques and daily for VLBI) and daily Earth orientation parameters (EOPs), including full variance–covariance information. Analysis of the DORIS station positions’ time-series indicates an internal precision reaching 15 mm or better, at a weekly sampling. A cumulative solution using 12 years of weekly time-series was obtained and compared to a similar International GNSS Service (IGS) GPS solution (at 37 co-located sites) yielding a weighted root mean scatter (WRMS) of the order of 8 mm in position (at the epoch of minimum variance) and about 2.5 mm/year in velocity. The quality of this cumulative solution resulting from the combination of two individual DORIS solutions is better than any individual solution. A quality assessment of polar motion embedded in the contributed DORIS solutions is performed by comparison with the results of other space-geodetic techniques and in particular GPS. The inferred WRMS of polar motion varies significantly from one DORIS solution to another and is between 0.5 and 2 mas, depending on the strategy used and in particular estimating or not polar motion rate by the analysis centers. This particular aspect certainly needs more investigation by the DORIS Analysis Centers.     

A corrective model for Jason-1 DORIS Doppler data in relation to the South Atlantic Anomaly

The DORIS Doppler measurements collected by Jason-1 are abnormally perturbed by the influence of the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA). The DORIS ultra-stable oscillators on-board Jason-1 are not as stable as they should be; their frequency is sensitive both to the irradiation rate and to the total irradiation encountered in orbit. The consequence is that not only are the DORIS measurement residuals higher than they ought to be, but also large systematic positioning errors are introduced for stations located in the vicinity of the SAA. In this paper, we present a method that has been devised to obtain a continuous observation of Jason-1 frequency offsets. This method relies on the precise determination of the station frequency and troposphere parameters via the use of other DORIS satellites. More than 3 years of these observations have then been used to construct a model of response of the oscillators of Jason-1 to the SAA. The sensitivity of the Jason-1 oscillators to the SAA perturbations has evolved over time, multiplied by a factor of four between launch and mid-2004. The corrective performances of the model are discussed in terms of DORIS measurement residuals, precise orbit determination and station positioning. The average DORIS measurement residuals are decreased by more than 7 % using this model. In terms of precise orbit determination, the 3D DORIS-only orbit error decreases from 5 to 4.2 cm, but the DORIS+SLR orbit error is almost unaffected, due to the already good quality of this type of orbit. In terms of station positioning, the model brings down the average 3D mono-satellite monthly network solution discrepancy with the International Terrestrial Reference Frame ITRF2000 from 11.3 to 6.1 cm, and also decreases the scatter about that average from 11.3 to 3.7 cm. The conclusion is that, with this model, it is possible to re-incorporate Jason-1 in the multi-satellite geodetic solutions for the DORIS station network.     

Geocentre motion measured with DORIS and SLR, and predicted by geophysical models

Geocentre motion signals measured by satellite geodesy and those predicted from the observed mass redistribution in the ocean, atmosphere and terrestrial waters over 1993.1–2003.0 are analysed and compared under two viewpoints: the amplitudes and phases of the seasonal components, and the spectral signature of the non-seasonal components. The geodetic signals partly match the geophysical variations in the seasonal band, with possible remaining annual and semi-annual errors in both techniques, at the millimetre level in the equatorial plane for Satellite laser ranging (SLR) and Doppler Orbitography and radiopositioning integrated on Satellite (DORIS), and at the centimetre level in T _z (Z-axis translation) for DORIS. Unlike SLR, the DORIS annual signatures in all three geocentre components have strongly varying amplitudes after 1996. The amplitude of the annual geophysical signal in T _y is slowly growing with time. All three geophysical fluids contribute to this effect. The magnitude of the geophysically derived long-term geocentre motion is of the same magnitude in the T _x , T _y and T _z directions, with a 0.5–1.0 mm Allan standard deviation for the 1-year sampling time, while the geodetic values are 2 mm in the equatorial plane for both SLR and DORIS, 4 mm for SLR and 9 mm for DORIS in the T _z direction. The mismatch of the geodetic signal with the geophysical one in the inter-annual band is suggested to be due partly to excessive geodetic noise and partly to underestimated geophysical signal.     

First results of DORIS data analysis at Geodetic Observatory Pecný

In a cooperation between the Astronomical Institute, University of Bern (AIUB), the Geodetic Observatory Pecný (GOPE), and the Institut Géographique National (IGN), DORIS data analysis capabilities were implemented into a development version of the Bernese GPS software. The DORIS Doppler observables are reformulated such that they are similar to global navigation satellite system (GNSS) carrier-phase observations, allowing the use of the same observation models and algorithms as for GNSS carrier-phase data analysis with only minor software modifications. As such, the same algorithms may be used to process DORIS carrier-phase observations. First results from the analysis of 3 weeks of DORIS data (September 2004, five DORIS-equipped satellites) at GOPE are promising and are presented here. They include the comparison of station coordinates with coordinate estimates derived by the Laboratoire d’Etudes en Géophysique et Océanographie Spatiale/Collecte Localisation Satellites analysis centre (LCA) and the Institut Géographique National/Jet Propulsion Laboratory (IGN/JPL), and the comparison of Earth orientation parameters (EOPs) with the International Earth Rotation and Reference Frames Service (IERS) C04 model. The modified Bernese results are of a slightly lower, but comparable, quality than corresponding solutions routinely computed within the IDS (International DORIS Service). The weekly coordinate repeatability RMS is of the order of 2–3 cm for each 3D station coordinate. Comparison with corresponding estimates of station coordinates from current IDS analysis centers demonstrates similar precision. Daily pole component estimates show a mean difference from IERS-C04 of 0.6  mas in X _p and  ? 0.5  mas in Y _p and a RMS of 0.8  mas in X _p and 0.9  mas in Y _p (mean removed). An automatic analysis procedure is under development at GOPE, and routine DORIS data processing will be implemented in the near future.     

Twenty years of evolution for the DORIS permanent network: from its initial deployment to its renovation

The ground network is one of the major components of the DORIS system. Its deployment, managed by the French national mapping agency [Institut Géographique National, (IGN)], started in 1986 at a sustained pace that allowed it to reach 32 stations upon the launch of the first DORIS-equipped satellite (SPOT-2) in 1990. For the first generation of transmitting antennas, the installation procedures were adapted to the decimetre performance objective for the DORIS system. During the second era of the deployment of an even denser network, the antenna support layouts gradually evolved towards a better quality, thus improving the long-term stability of the antenna reference point, and a new antenna model allowed a more accurate survey. As the positioning accuracy of the DORIS system improved, it was necessary to review the antenna stability for the whole network. A first stability estimation, using criteria like antenna model and support design, was followed by a major renovation effort which started in 2000 and is now almost complete. In 6 years, through the renovation or installation of 43 stations and the implementation of new installation procedures to meet more stringent stability requirements, significant improvement in network quality was achieved. Later a more analytical approach, taking into account the characteristics of each element that support the antenna, has been taken to assess the potential stability of all DORIS occupations. IGN is also in charge of its operational maintenance, an intensive activity on account of the significant failure rate of the successive generations of equipment. Nevertheless, thanks to its unique density and homogeneity, DORIS has maintained a very good coverage rate of the satellite orbits. Through 38 well-distributed current co-locations with the Global Positioning System, Satellite Laser Ranging and Very Long Baseline Interferometry techniques in its current 56-station network, DORIS contributes significantly to the realisation of the International Terrestrial Reference System. DORIS stations in areas where no other space geodesy technique is available provide a significant contribution to the study of plate tectonics. Many stations co-located with tide gauges contribute to the monitoring of sea level changes. Although it has several advantages over similar techniques, there is still room for improvement in the DORIS network.     

通导遥一体化深远海PNT基准及服务网络构想

从海底控制网设计、布设、测量、数据处理和海洋声速场构建几个方面介绍了海底控制网建设的现状。结合国家海洋战略需求和海洋大地测量技术发展,分析了现阶段海底控制网建设面临的问题：认为目前的海底网规模小,缺乏信息共享,功能单一;设计与布设原则未与控制网等级关联,多为定性描述,缺乏操作性;声速场精度和分辨率偏低;测量和数据处理仅考虑了海底控制点的定位问题,难以满足大区域、高精度海洋PNT(positioning,navigation,and timing)基准网建设需求。据此,利用海洋声道的远程通讯和测距定位能力,提出了建设联合北斗/GNSS(global navigation satellite system)定位和通信导航功能的通导遥一体化深远海PNT基准及服务网络的构想,针对该网络的功能和布放设计、高精度、高分辨率海洋声速场模型的构建、各类PNT基准点的测量和整体网平差处理、海底PNT基准点的自校准和自维护、覆盖水域的位置增强服务、目标和环境的遥测和感知服务等几个关键技术问题,提出了实施方法和设想,以期解决当前海洋控制网大区域建设面临的缺乏通讯、布网原则和测量方法不完善、功能单一等问题,为...     

The International Association of Geodesy 1862 to 1922: from a regional project to an international organization

Geodesy, by definition, requires international collaboration on a global scale. An organized cooperation started in 1862, and has become todays International Association of Geodesy (IAG). The roots of modern geodesy in the 18th century, with arc measurements in several parts of the world, and national geodetic surveys in France and Great Britain, are explained. The manifold local enterprises in central Europe, which happened in the first half of the 19th century, are described in some detail as they prepare the foundation for the following regional project. Simultaneously, Gauss, Bessel and others developed a more sophisticated definition of the Earths figure, which includes the effect of the gravity field. In 1861, the retired Prussian general J.J. Baeyer took up earlier ideas from Schumacher, Gauss, Struve and others, to propose a Central European Arc Measurement in order to study the figure of the Earth in that region. This led to a scientific organization, which soon extended from Central Europe to the whole continent and later to the globe, and changed its name in 1886 to Internationale Erdmessung (International Geodetic Association). The scientific programme also widened remarkably from more local studies based on geometric data to regional and global investigations, with gravity measurements as an important source of information. The Central Bureau of the Internationale Erdmessung was hosted at the Prussian Geodetic Institute in Potsdam, and with Baeyer as Director, developed as an efficient tool of the Association. The scientific research extended and deepened after 1886, when F.R. Helmert became Director of the Central Bureau. A stronger international participation then took place, while the influence of the German states reduced. Of great practical importance were questions of standardization and reference systems, but first attempts to interpret gravity field variations and to monitor geodynamic phenomena by geodetic methods indicated future tendencies. With the First World War and the expiry of the last international convention in 1916, the international cooperation within the frame of the Association practically came to an end, which ended the first epoch of the Association. Nevertheless, due to the strong commitment of two scientists from neutral countries, the International Latitude Service continued to observe polar motion and to deliver the data to the Berlin Central Bureau for evaluation. After the First World War, geodesy became one of the founding members of the International Union for Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG), and formed one of its Sections (respectively Associations). It has been officially named the International Association of Geodesy (IAG) since 1932.     

Data visualization at the US census bureau – an American tradition

Recent developments in data visualization, developer Application Program Interfaces (APIs), and web services reinforce a long American tradition of statistical mapping and innovation at the US Census Bureau. Consistent with other international statistical agencies, the Census Bureau has used contemporary innovations in statistical mapping and data visualization to disseminate national census results for over 14 decades. The US Census Bureau’s data products and analyses have enabled decision makers and the public to access census results quickly and easily. The new information technology environment requires the Census Bureau to more rapidly expedite these results and deliver mapping products to new customers as well as to its traditional data consumers. The Census API has empowered developers and commercial companies to test the limits of a new emerging world of big data solutions. This article presents some of the most recent data visualization products from the Census Bureau, including an expanding Data Visualization Gallery to merge geospatial information and statistics on the map.     

顾及测量方式的地球自转参数差异性分析

随着甚长基线干涉测量(VLBI)、卫星激光测距(SLR)、激光测月(LLR)、全球卫星导航系统(GNSS)、多里斯系统(DORIS)等多种空间大地测量手段的使用,地球自转参数(ERP)的测量精度不断提高,为航天器导航、深空探测等诸多领域提供了高精度的国际天球参考系(ICRS)和国际地表参考系统(ITRS)之间的转换参数. 以国际地球自转与参考系服务发布的C04序列为基础序列,选取500天ERP序列,分析不同测量手段得到的ERP数据的误差分布情况,为研究利用不同数据之间的一致性进行精度检核的可行性及精度水平提供数据基础,同时也为ERP预报提供更多的数据选择.      

Total Electron Content Variations Observed by a DORIS Station During the 2004 Sumatra–Andaman Earthquake

For about 40 years, ionospheric variations [including total electron content (TEC)] have been observed from time to time during large earthquakes. The TEC is the integrated electron density between a ground beacon and a satellite. It is a by-product of the International DORIS Service (IDS), which is also used for precise orbit determination of altimetric satellites. This paper reports the study of TEC variations observed by the DORIS station Cibinong, Indonesia (CICB, latitude: 6.48°S; longitude: 106.85°E) at the time of the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake (magnitude 9.2), which occurred on December 26, 2004. Numerous and intense aftershocks followed for several months after the main shock. An analysis was done to compare the variation of the TEC intensity observed by several satellites with the occurrence of these earthquakes. For comparison, the same study was also performed for another earthquake occurred very close to CICB but at a very different time. The main result is that the DORIS data show a TEC perturbation during night time close to the epicenter prior to the main Sumatra–Andaman earthquake event.     

Defining a DORIS core network for Jason-1 precise orbit determination based on ITRF2000: methods and realization

In view of the future adoption of the new precise orbit determination (POD) standards for the TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason-1 satellites, we propose a method to evaluate terrestrial reference frames for POD. We applied this method to the ITRF2000 realization of the DORIS network using local geodetic ties, plate motion models, the recent DORIS IGN04D02 cumulative solution and DORIS weekly time-series of coordinates. We propose to adopt a selection of the ITRF2000 realization based on specific criteria that we define here, and to extend it with ground stations for which we propose new coordinates and velocities. Only 13 out of 131 stations were considered to be inappropriate for POD activities. The result is a robust and well-distributed DORIS core network of 118 stations (DPOD2000) suitable for POD during the 1993–2008 period considered here.     

DORIS and the Determination of the Earth’s Polar Motion

DORIS (Détermination d’Orbite et Radiopositionnement Intégrés par Satellite) is a system used for precise orbit determination (POD) and ground-station positioning. It has been implemented on-board various satellites: the SPOT (Système pour l’Observation de la Terre) remote sensing satellites SPOT-2, SPOT-3, SPOT-4, SPOT-5, TOPEX/Poseidon and more recently on its successors Jason-1 and ENVISAT. DORIS is also a terrestrial positioning system that has found many applications in geophysics and geodesy; in particular, it contributes to the realization of the International Terrestrial Reference Frame, ITRF2000 and the forthcoming ITRF2005. Although not its primary objective, DORIS can bring information on Earth orientation monitoring, mainly polar motion and length of day (LOD) variations that complement other astrogeodetic techniques. In this paper, we have analyzed various recent polar motion solutions derived from independent analysis centers using different software packages and applying various analysis strategies. Comparisons of these solutions to the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS) C04 solution are performed. Depending on the solutions, the accuracy of DORIS polar components are in the range of 0.5–1 mas corresponding to a few centimeters on the Earth’s surface. This is approximately ten times larger than results derived from GPS, which are typically 0.06 mas in both components. This does not allow DORIS results to be taken into account in the IERS–EOP combinations. A gain in the precision could come from technical improvements to the DORIS system, in addition to improvement of the orbit, tropospheric, ionospheric and Earth gravity field modeling.     

Resourcesat (IRS-P6) value added data products

Remote sensing data products need to meet stringent geodetic and geometric accuracy specifications irrespective of intended user applications. Georeferencing is the basic processing step towards achieving this goal. Having known the imaging geometry and mechanism, the mathematical models built with the use of orbit and attitude information of the spacecraft can correct the remote sensing data for its geometric degradations only up to system level accuracy (IRS-P6 DP Team, 2000). The uncertainties in the orbit and attitude information will not allow the geometric correction model to generate products of accuracy that can meet user requirements unless Ground Control Points (GCP) are used as reference geo-location landmarks. IRS-P6 data processing team has been entrusted with developing a software system to generate data products that will have desired geodetic and geometric accuracies with known limitations. The intended software system is called the Value Added Data Products System (VADS). Precision corrected, Template Registered, Merged and Ortho Rectified products are the value added products planned with VADS.     

中国大地测量的数据处理要科学界定潮汐改正计算

中国大地测量的现行规范细则中 ,凡涉及潮汐改正计算的都采用全潮汐改正 ,所以相应的数据处理和大地成果就相应于无潮汐值 ,如无潮汐重力值、无潮汐水准高、无潮汐垂线偏差、无潮汐高程异常值 ,甚至由此涉及无潮汐地壳等。这项改正曾经受到 1979年国际大地测量协会 (IAG)堪培拉 (Canberra)大会有关决议的支持 ,但随后不久 ,IAG就作了改正 ,在 1983年汉堡 (Hamburg)大会上仍以决议形式修正了它原来的意见 ,转而对零潮汐改正表示支持。国际大地测量界对潮汐改正的研究几经反复 ,近十年来已取得了比较一致的意见 ,即认为采用零潮汐改正是比较科学的 ,特别是对以陆地国土为主的国家更为合适。因此 ,中国在制定新的大地测量基准的有关条例和相应的各种大地规范细则时 ,应及时修正原来的无潮汐改正的规定 ,确定采用零潮汐改正 ,使全国在这方面的数据处理和所得大地成果纳入更为科学的轨道