Influence of subdaily polar motion model on nutation offsets estimated by very long baseline interferometry

This paper studies the connection between the subdaily model for polar motion used in the processing of very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations and the estimated nutation offsets. By convention accepted by the International Earth Rotation Service, the subdaily model for polar motion recommended for routine processing of geodetic observations does not contain any daily retrograde terms due to their one-to-one correlation with the nutation. Nevertheless, for a 24-h VLBI solution a part of the signal contained in the polar motion given by the used subdaily model is numerically mistaken for a retrograde daily sidereal signal. This fictitious retrograde daily signal contributes to the estimated nutation, leading to systematic differences between the nutation offsets from VLBI solutions computed with different subdaily polar motion models. We demonstrate this effect using solutions for all suitable 24-h VLBI sessions over a time span of 11 years (2000–2011). By changing the amplitudes of one tidal term in the underlying subdaily model for polar motion and comparing the estimated parameters to the solutions computed with the unchanged subdaily model, the paper shows and explains theoretically the effects produced by the individual subdaily terms on the VLBI nutation estimates.     

Tropospheric refractivity and zenith path delays from least-squares collocation of meteorological and GNSS data

Precise positioning requires an accurate a priori troposphere model to enhance the solution quality. Several empirical models are available, but they may not properly characterize the state of troposphere, especially in severe weather conditions. Another possible solution is to use regional troposphere models based on real-time or near-real time measurements. In this study, we present the total refractivity and zenith total delay (ZTD) models based on a numerical weather prediction (NWP) model, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data and ground-based meteorological observations. We reconstruct the total refractivity profiles over the western part of Switzerland and the total refractivity profiles as well as ZTDs over Poland using the least-squares collocation software COMEDIE (Collocation of Meteorological Data for Interpretation and Estimation of Tropospheric Pathdelays) developed at ETH Zürich. In these two case studies, profiles of the total refractivity and ZTDs are calculated from different data sets. For Switzerland, the data set with the best agreement with the reference radiosonde (RS) measurements is the combination of ground-based meteorological observations and GNSS ZTDs. Introducing the horizontal gradients does not improve the vertical interpolation, and results in slightly larger biases and standard deviations. For Poland, the data set based on meteorological parameters from the NWP Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model and from a combination of the NWP model and GNSS ZTDs shows the best agreement with the reference RS data. In terms of ZTD, the combined NWP-GNSS observations and GNSS-only data set exhibit the best accuracy with an average bias (from all stations) of 3.7 mm and average standard deviations of 17.0 mm w.r.t. the reference GNSS stations.     

Spherical integral transforms of second-order gravitational tensor components onto third-order gravitational tensor components

New spherical integral formulas between components of the second- and third-order gravitational tensors are formulated in this article. First, we review the nomenclature and basic properties of the second- and third-order gravitational tensors. Initial points of mathematical derivations, i.e., the second- and third-order differential operators defined in the spherical local North-oriented reference frame and the analytical solutions of the gradiometric boundary-value problem, are also summarized. Secondly, we apply the third-order differential operators to the analytical solutions of the gradiometric boundary-value problem which gives 30 new integral formulas transforming (1) vertical-vertical, (2) vertical-horizontal and (3) horizontal-horizontal second-order gravitational tensor components onto their third-order counterparts. Using spherical polar coordinates related sub-integral kernels can efficiently be decomposed into azimuthal and isotropic parts. Both spectral and closed forms of the isotropic kernels are provided and their limits are investigated. Thirdly, numerical experiments are performed to test the consistency of the new integral transforms and to investigate properties of the sub-integral kernels. The new mathematical apparatus is valid for any harmonic potential field and may be exploited, e.g., when gravitational/magnetic second- and third-order tensor components become available in the future. The new integral formulas also extend the well-known Meissl diagram and enrich the theoretical apparatus of geodesy.     

Geocenter variations derived from a combined processing of LEO- and ground-based GPS observations

GNSS observations provided by the global tracking network of the International GNSS Service (IGS, Dow et al. in J Geod 83(3):191–198, 2009) play an important role in the realization of a unique terrestrial reference frame that is accurate enough to allow a detailed monitoring of the Earth’s system. Combining these ground-based data with GPS observations tracked by high-quality dual-frequency receivers on-board low earth orbiters (LEOs) is a promising way to further improve the realization of the terrestrial reference frame and the estimation of geocenter coordinates, GPS satellite orbits and Earth rotation parameters. To assess the scope of the improvement on the geocenter coordinates, we processed a network of 53 globally distributed and stable IGS stations together with four LEOs (GRACE-A, GRACE-B, OSTM/Jason-2 and GOCE) over a time interval of 3 years (2010–2012). To ensure fully consistent solutions, the zero-difference phase observations of the ground stations and LEOs were processed in a common least-squares adjustment, estimating all the relevant parameters such as GPS and LEO orbits, station coordinates, Earth rotation parameters and geocenter motion. We present the significant impact of the individual LEO and a combination of all four LEOs on the geocenter coordinates. The formal errors are reduced by around 20% due to the inclusion of one LEO into the ground-only solution, while in a solution with four LEOs LEO-specific characteristics are significantly reduced. We compare the derived geocenter coordinates w.r.t. LAGEOS results and external solutions based on GPS and SLR data. We found good agreement in the amplitudes of all components; however, the phases in x- and z-direction do not agree well.     

Group delay variations of GPS transmitting and receiving antennas

GPS code pseudorange measurements exhibit group delay variations at the transmitting and the receiving antenna. We calibrated C1 and P2 delay variations with respect to dual-frequency carrier phase observations and obtained nadir-dependent corrections for 32 satellites of the GPS constellation in early 2015 as well as elevation-dependent corrections for 13 receiving antenna models. The combined delay variations reach up to 1.0 m (3.3 ns) in the ionosphere-free linear combination for specific pairs of satellite and receiving antennas. Applying these corrections to the code measurements improves code/carrier single-frequency precise point positioning, ambiguity fixing based on the Melbourne–Wübbena linear combination, and determination of ionospheric total electron content. It also affects fractional cycle biases and differential code biases.     

A spatial error model with continuous random effects and an application to growth convergence

We propose a spatial error model with continuous random effects based on Matérn covariance functions and apply this model for the analysis of income convergence processes (\(\beta \)-convergence). The use of a model with continuous random effects permits a clearer visualization and interpretation of the spatial dependency patterns, avoids the problems of defining neighborhoods in spatial econometrics models, and allows projecting the spatial effects for every possible location in the continuous space, circumventing the existing aggregations in discrete lattice representations. We apply this model approach to analyze the economic growth of Brazilian municipalities between 1991 and 2010 using unconditional and conditional formulations and a spatiotemporal model of convergence. The results indicate that the estimated spatial random effects are consistent with the existence of income convergence clubs for Brazilian municipalities in this period.     

GLONASS phase bias estimation and its PPP ambiguity resolution using homogeneous receivers

Integer ambiguity resolution (IAR) appreciably improves the position accuracy and shortens the convergence time of precise point positioning (PPP). However, while many studies are limited to GPS, there is a need to investigate the performance of GLONASS PPP ambiguity resolution. Unfortunately, because of the frequency-division multiple-access strategy of GLONASS, GLONASS PPP IAR faces two obstacles. First, simultaneously observed satellites operate at different wavelengths. Second and most importantly, distinct inter-frequency bias (IFB) exists between different satellites. For the former, we adopt an undifferenced method for uncalibrated phase delay (UPD) estimation and proposed an undifferenced PPP IAR strategy. We select a set of homogeneous receivers with identical receiver IFB to perform UPD estimation and PPP IAR. The code and carrier phase IFBs can be absorbed by satellite wide-lane and narrow-lane UPDs, respectively, which is in turn consistent with PPP IAR using the same type of receivers. In order to verify the method, we used 50 stations to generate satellite UPDs and another 12 stations selected as users to perform PPP IAR. We found that the GLONASS satellite UPDs are stable in time and space and can be estimated with high accuracy and reliability. After applying UPD correction, 91 % of wide-lane ambiguities and 99 % of narrow-lane ambiguities are within (?0.15, +0.15) cycles of the nearest integer. After ambiguity resolution, the 2-hour static PPP accuracy improves from (0.66, 1.42, 1.55) cm to (0.38, 0.39, 1.39) cm for the north, east, and up components, respectively.     

Error analysis of the 3D similarity coordinate transformation

The 3D similarity coordinate transformation with the Gauss–Helmert error model is investigated. The first-order error analysis of an analytical least-squares solution to this problem is developed in detail. While additive errors are assumed in the translation and scale estimates, a 3 × 1 multiplicative error vector is defined to effectively parameterize the rotation matrix estimation error. The propagation of the errors in the coordinate measurements to the errors in the estimated transformation parameters is derived step-by-step, and the formulae for calculating the variance–covariance matrix of the estimated parameters are presented.     

Global morphology of ionospheric F-layer scintillations using FS3/COSMIC GPS radio occultation data

We report on the FormoSat-3/Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate (FS3/COSMIC) limb-viewing observations of GPS L-band scintillations since mid-2006 and propose to study global F-layer irregularity morphology. The FS3/COSMIC has generally performed more than 1000 ionospheric radio occultation (RO) observations per day. We reprocess 1-Hz amplitude data and obtain complete limb-viewing profiles of the undersampling (sampling frequency lower than Fresnel frequency) S4 scintillation index from about 80% of the RO observations. There are a few percent of FS3/COSMIC RO observations having greater than 0.09 undersampling S4max values on average. However, seven identified areas, Central Pacific Area (?20° to 20° dip latitude, 160°E–130°W), South American Area (?20° to 20° dip latitude, 100°W–30°W), African Area (?20° to 20° dip latitude, 30°W–50°E), European Area (30°–55°N, 0°–55°E), Japan Sea Area (35°–55°N, 120°–150°E), Arctic Area (>65° dip latitude), and Antarctic Area (<?65° dip latitude), have been designated to have a much higher percentage of strong limb-viewing L-band scintillations. During the years in most of the last sunspot cycle from mid-2006 to the end 2014, the scintillation climatology, namely, its variations with each identified area, season, local time, magnetic activity, and solar activity, have been documented.     

GLONASS pseudorange inter-channel biases considerations when jointly estimating GPS and GLONASS clock offset

GLONASS clock offset estimation is affected by the inter-channel biases (ICBs) caused by frequency division multiple access technique. The effect of ICBs on joint GPS/GLONASS clock offset estimation is analyzed. An efficient approach for joint estimation of GPS/GLONASS satellite clock offset is applied to the generation of 30-s clock offset products. During the estimation, the following three ICB handling strategies were tested: calculating ICBs for each GLONASS signal channel, calculating ICBs for each GLONASS satellite and neglecting ICBs. The behavior of ICBs under different strategies was statistically stable. Subsequently, the clock offset products using different ICB strategies were evaluated. The evaluation shows that consideration of the ICB is important when estimating the clock offset. Furthermore, estimating one ICB for each GLONASS satellite is better than estimating one for each GLONASS signal channel because, with the former strategy, the clock offset products behave more smoothly and have higher accuracy compared with products from the International GNSS Service Analysis Center. In addition, precise point positioning, using clock offsets based on one ICB for each GLONASS satellite, has the highest positioning accuracy.