scholarly journals Advantages of Uncombined Precise Point Positioning with Fixed Ambiguity Resolution for Slant Total Electron Content (STEC) and Differential Code Bias (DCB) Estimation

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jin Wang ◽  
Guanwen Huang ◽  
Peiyuan Zhou ◽  
Yuanxi Yang ◽  
Qin Zhang ◽  
...  

The determination of slant total electron content (STEC) between satellites and receivers is the first step for establishing an ionospheric model. However, the leveling errors, caused by the smoothed ambiguity solutions in the carrier-to-code leveling (CCL) method, degrade the performance of ionosphere modeling and differential code bias (DCB) estimation. To reduce the leveling errors, an uncombined and undifferenced precise point positioning (PPP) method with ambiguity resolution (AR) was used to directly extract the STEC. Firstly, the ionospheric observables were estimated with CCL, PPP float-ambiguity solutions, and PPP fixed-ambiguity solutions, respectively, to analyze the short-term temporal variation of receiver DCB in zero or short baselines. Then, the global ionospheric map (GIM) was modeled using three types of ionospheric observables based on the single-layer model (SLM) assumption. Compared with the CCL method, the slight variations of receiver DCBs can be obviously distinguished using high precise ionospheric observables, with a 58.4% and 71.2% improvement of the standard deviation (STD) for PPP float-ambiguity and fixed-ambiguity solutions, respectively. For ionosphere modeling, the 24.7% and 27.9% improvements for posteriori residuals were achieved for PPP float-ambiguity and fixed-ambiguity solutions, compared to the CCL method. The corresponding improvement for residuals of the vertical total electron contents (VTECs) compared with the Center for Orbit Determination in Europe (CODE) final GIM products in global accuracy was 9.2% and 13.7% for PPP float-ambiguity and fixed-ambiguity solutions, respectively. The results show that the PPP fixed-ambiguity solution is the best one for the GIM product modeling and satellite DCBs estimation.

Sensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 1138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liang Zhang ◽  
Yibin Yao ◽  
Wenjie Peng ◽  
Lulu Shan ◽  
Yulin He ◽  
...  

The prevalence of real-time, low-cost, single-frequency, decimeter-level positioning has increased with the development of global navigation satellite systems (GNSSs). Ionospheric delay accounts for most errors in real-time single-frequency GNSS positioning. To eliminate ionospheric interference in real-time single-frequency precise point positioning (RT-SF-PPP), global ionospheric vertical total electron content (VTEC) product is designed in the next stage of the International GNSS Service (IGS) real-time service (RTS). In this study, real-time generation of a global ionospheric map (GIM) based on IGS RTS is proposed and assessed. There are three crucial steps in the process of generating a real-time global ionospheric map (RTGIM): estimating station differential code bias (DCB) using the precise point positioning (PPP) method, deriving slant total electron content (STEC) from PPP with raw observations, and modeling global vertical total electron content (VTEC). Experiments were carried out to validate the algorithm’s effectiveness. First, one month’s data from 16 globally distributed IGS stations were used to validate the performance of DCB estimation with the PPP method. Second, 30 IGS stations were used to verify the accuracy of static PPP with raw observations. Third, the modeling of residuals was assessed in high and quiet ionospheric activity periods. Afterwards, the quality of RTGIM products was assessed from two aspects: (1) comparison with the Center for Orbit Determination in Europe (CODE) global ionospheric map (GIM) products and (2) determination of the performance of RT-SF-PPP with the RTGIM. Experimental results show that DCB estimation using the PPP method can realize an average accuracy of 0.2 ns; static PPP with raw observations can achieve an accuracy of 0.7, 1.2, and 2.1 cm in the north, east, and up components, respectively. The average standard deviations (STDs) of the model residuals are 2.07 and 2.17 TEC units (TECU) for moderate and high ionospheric activity periods. Moreover, the average root-mean-square (RMS) error of RTGIM products is 2.4 TECU for the one-month moderate ionospheric period. Nevertheless, for the high ionospheric period, the RMS is greater than the RMS in the moderate period. A sub-meter-level horizontal accuracy and meter-level vertical accuracy can be achieved when the RTGIM is employed in RT-SF-PPP.


2015 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 605-616 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Rodríguez-Bilbao ◽  
B. Moreno Monge ◽  
G. Rodríguez-Caderot ◽  
M. Herraiz ◽  
S.M. Radicella

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mona Kosary ◽  
Saeed Farzaneh ◽  
Maike Schumacher ◽  
Ehsan Forootan

<p>Increasing the quality of ionosphere modeling is crucial and remains a challenge for many geodetic applications such as GNSS Precise Point Positioning (PPP) and navigation. Ionosphere models are the main tool to provide an estimation of Total Electron Content (TEC) to be corrected from GNSS career phase and pseudorange measurements. Skills of these models are however limited due to the simplifications in model equations and the imperfect knowledge of model parameters. In this study, an ionosphere reconstruction approach is presented, where global estimations of geodetic-based TEC measurements are combined with an ionospheric background model. This is achieved here through a novel simultaneous Calibration and Data Assimilation (C/DA) technique that works based on the sequential Ensemble Kalman Filter (EnKF). The C/DA method ingests the actual ionospheric measurements (derived from global GNSS measurements) into the IRI (International Reference Ionosphere) model. It also calibrates those parameters that control the F2 layer’s characteristics such as selected important CCIR (Comité Consultatif International des Radiocommunicationsand) URSI (International Union of Radio Science) coefficients.  The calibrated parameters derived from the C/DA are then replaced in the IRI to simulate TEC values in locations, where less GNSS ground-station infrastructure exists, as well as to enhance the prediction of TEC when the observations are not available or their usage is cautious due to low quality. Our numerical assessments indicate the advantage of the C/DA to improve the IRI’s performance. Values of the TEC-Root Mean Square of Error (RMSE) are found to be decreased by up to 30% globally, compared to the original IRI simulations. The importance of the new TEC estimations is demonstrated for PPP applications, whose results show improvements in navigation applications.</p><p><strong>Keywords: </strong>Ionosphere, Calibration and Data Assimilation (C/DA), IRI, Total Electron Content (TEC), Precise Point Positioning (PPP), GNSS</p>


Space Weather ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 698-708 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Rodríguez-Bilbao ◽  
S. M. Radicella ◽  
G. Rodríguez-Caderot ◽  
M. Herraiz

GEOMATICA ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 67 (4) ◽  
pp. 253-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahmoud Abd El-Rahman ◽  
Ahmed El-Rabbany

Geodetic-grade dual-frequency GPS receivers are typically used for precise point positioning (PPP). Unfortunately, these receiver systems are expensive and may not provide a cost-effective solution in many instances. The use of low-cost single-frequency GPS receivers, on the other hand, are limited by the effect of ionospheric delay. A number of mitigation techniques have been proposed to account for the effect of ionospheric delay for single-frequency GPS users. Unfortunately, however, those mitigation techniques are not suitable for PPP. More recently, the U.S. Total Electron Content (USTEC) product has been developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which describes the ionospheric total electron content in high resolution over most of North America. This paper investigates the performance of USTEC and studies its effect on single-frequency PPP solution. A performance comparison with two widely-used ionospheric mitigation models is also presented.


2015 ◽  
Vol 69 (4) ◽  
pp. 698-708 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Abdelazeem ◽  
Rahmi N. Çelik ◽  
Ahmed El-Rabbany

In this study, we develop a Multi-constellation Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Receiver Differential Code Bias (MGR-DCB) model. The model estimates the receiver DCBs for the Global Positioning System (GPS), BeiDou and Galileo signals from the ionosphere-corrected geometry-free linear combinations of the code observations. In order to account for the ionospheric delay, a Regional Ionospheric Model (RIM) over Europe is developed. GPS observations from 60 International GNSS Servoce (IGS) and EUREF reference stations are processed in the Bernese-5·2 Precise Point Positioning (PPP) module to estimate the Vertical Total Electron Content (VTEC). The RIM has spatial and temporal resolutions of 1° × 1° and 15 minutes, respectively. The receiver DCBs for three stations from the International GNSS Service Multi-GNSS Experiment (IGS-MGEX) are estimated for three different days. The estimated DCBs are compared with the MGEX published values. The results show agreement with the MGEX values with mean difference and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) values less than 1 ns. In addition, the combined GPS, BeiDou and Galileo VTEC values are evaluated and compared with the IGS Global Ionospheric Maps (IGS-GIM) counterparts. The results show agreement with the GIM values with mean difference and RMSE values less than 1 Total Electron Content Unit (TECU).


2020 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 445-459
Author(s):  
Fabiane Piovesan de Moraes Cordeiro ◽  
Tiago Lima Rodrigues ◽  
Luiz Danilo Damasceno Ferreira

Quando se almeja maior acurácia no posicionamento GNSS, é imprescindível a correção dos efeitos de ordem superior da refração ionosférica. O erro associado à ionosfera é diretamente proporcional ao conteúdo total de elétrons (Total Electron Content – TEC) presentes na atmosfera e inversamente proporcional à frequência do sinal. Ao usar a combinação linear livre de geometria com as observações advindas dos códigos, o cálculo do TEC é influenciado pelo erro sistemático conhecido como tendência diferencial devido ao atraso do código (Differential Code Bias – DCB). Esta pesquisa tem como principal objetivo a determinação do DCB C1C-C2W de um receptor GPS, utilizando a técnica da Simples Diferença, para utilização no cálculo do TEC e na correção dos efeitos de ordem superior da refração ionosférica diretamente em campo. Os experimentos foram realizados no contexto do PPP (Posicionamento por Ponto Preciso). Experimentos adicionais considerando a propagação dos valores de DCB por três e quatro semanas foram conduzidos. Isso, a fim de verificar a possibilidade de diminuir a frequência de idas a campo para o cálculo dos valores de DCB. Os resultados obtidos considerando-se a correção de ordem superior da refração ionosférica mostram uma melhorana ordem do milímetro na direção leste-oeste e na direção normal ao elipsoide, quando comparados com o processamento considerando apenas as correções de primeira ordem. Para a componente norte-sul, a melhora apresentou-se na ordem do centímetro. Quando utilizados os DCBs propagados, os resultados apresentaram uma acurácia média no PPP de 0,2 cm para latitude, 1,4 cm para longitude e 1,5 cm para altitude.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Baocheng Zhang ◽  
Chuanbao Zhao ◽  
Robert Odolinski ◽  
Teng Liu

AbstractPrecise Point Positioning (PPP), initially developed for the analysis of the Global Positing System (GPS) data from a large geodetic network, gradually becomes an effective tool for positioning, timing, remote sensing of atmospheric water vapor, and monitoring of Earth’s ionospheric Total Electron Content (TEC). The previous studies implicitly assumed that the receiver code biases stay constant over time in formulating the functional model of PPP. In this contribution, it is shown this assumption is not always valid and can lead to the degradation of PPP performance, especially for Slant TEC (STEC) retrieval and timing. For this reason, the PPP functional model is modified by taking into account the time-varying receiver code biases of the two frequencies. It is different from the Modified Carrier-to-Code Leveling (MCCL) method which can only obtain the variations of Receiver Differential Code Biases (RDCBs), i.e., the difference between the two frequencies’ code biases. In the Modified PPP (MPPP) model, the temporal variations of the receiver code biases become estimable and their adverse impacts on PPP parameters, such as ambiguity parameters, receiver clock offsets, and ionospheric delays, are mitigated. This is confirmed by undertaking numerical tests based on the real dual-frequency GPS data from a set of global continuously operating reference stations. The results imply that the variations of receiver code biases exhibit a correlation with the ambient temperature. With the modified functional model, an improvement by 42% to 96% is achieved in the Differences of STEC (DSTEC) compared to the original PPP model with regard to the reference values of those derived from the Geometry-Free (GF) carrier phase observations. The medium and long term (1 × 104 to 1.5 × 104 s) frequency stability of receiver clocks are also significantly improved.


2015 ◽  
Vol 713-715 ◽  
pp. 1123-1126
Author(s):  
Xiao Yu Li ◽  
Jun Wang ◽  
Ya Tao Liu

Precise Point Positioning (PPP) with GPS measurements has achieved a level of success. In order to benefit from the multiple available constellations, research has been undertaken to combineGPS and BDS measurements in PPP processing.Mathematical models of GPS/BDS combined precise point positioning are introduced in this paper. GPS/BDS combined PPP models are developed based on the GPS-only PPP. The data pre-processing steps include applying satellite orbit and clock corrections, satellite antenna phase offset correction, receiver antenna phase offset correction, differential code bias corrections, troposphere delay corrections and the the Ionosphere-free observation combination is used. The results show that the positioning precision and convergence speed of GPS/BDS combined PPP are improved compared with GPS-only PPP.


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