Construction of Nominal Ionospheric Gradient Using Satellite Pair Method Based on GNSS CORS Observation in Indonesia

Ground-Based Augmentation System (GBAS) is a GNSS augmentation system that meets International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) requirements to support precision approach and landing. GBAS is based on the local differential GNSS technique with reference stations located around the airport to provide necessary integrity and accuracy. The performance of the GBAS system can be affected by the gradient in the ionospheric delay between the aircraft and the reference stations. A nominal ionospheric gradient, which is bounded by a conservative error bound, is represented by a parameter σvig. σvig was commonly determined using station pair to GNSS Continuous Operating Reference Station (CORS) data. The station pair method is susceptible to doubling of receiver bias error and is not suitable with the CORS conditions in Indonesia. We propose a satellite pair method that is found to be more suitable for the CORS network over Indonesia which is centered in Java and Sumatra islands. The value of σvig (4.48 mm/km) is obtained using this method along with the preliminary results of a comparison of σvig from Java and Sumatra islands.

GEODESY, CARTOGRAPHY AND AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY

The aim of this work is to evaluate the accuracy of determining the wet component of zenith tropospheric delay (ZTD) from GNSS-measurements and the accuracy of determining the hydrostatic component according to the Saastamoinen model in comparison with the radio sounding data as well. Zenith tropospheric delay is determined mainly by two methods - traditional, using radio sounding or using atmospheric models, such as the Saastamoinen model, and the method of GNSS measurements. Determination of the hydrostatic component of the zenith tropospheric delay was performed by radio sounding data obtained at the aerological station Praha-Libus in 2011-2013 and in 2018. Data were processed for the middle decades of January and July of each year at 0h o’clock of the Universal Time. The wet component was calculated from GNSS observations. By a significant number of radio soundings at the Praha-Libus aerological station, hydrostatic and wet components of zenith tropospheric delay (ZTD) and the same number of ZTD values derived for the corresponding time intervals from GNSS measurements at the GOPE reference station were determined. The values of the wet component of ZTD were determined and compared with the corresponding data obtained from radio soundings. We found that the error of the hydrostatic component in winter does not exceed 10 mm in absolute value, and in summer it is approximately 1.5 times smaller. This is due to differences in the stratification of the troposphere and lower stratosphere in winter and summer. As for the wet component of ZTD, its errors do not exceed: in winter 15 mm, in summer – 35 mm. The resulting differences in summer have a negative sign, indicating a systematic shift, and in winter – both negative and positive. Today, there are many studies aimed at improving the accuracy of determining zenith tropospheric delay by both Ukrainian and foreign authors, but the problem of the accuracy of the hydrostatic component remains open. The study provides recommendations for further research to improve the accuracy of zenith tropospheric delay.

A Fixed Algorithm of Ambiguity among the Network RTK Reference Stations

In the face of a complex observation environment, the solution of the reference station of the ambiguity of network real-time kinematic (RTK) will be affected. The joint solution of multiple systems makes the ambiguity dimension increase steeply, which makes it difficult to estimate all the ambiguity. In addition, when receiving satellite observation signals in the environment with many occlusions, the received satellite observation values are prone to gross errors, resulting in obvious deviations in the solution. In this paper, a new network RTK fixation algorithm for partial ambiguity among the reference stations is proposed. It first estimates the floating-point ambiguity using the robust extended Kalman filtering (EKF) technique based on mean estimation, then finds the optimal ambiguity subset by the optimized partial ambiguity solving method. Finally, fixing the floating-point solution by the least-squares ambiguity decorrelation adjustment (LAMBDA) algorithm and the joint test of ratio (R-ratio) and bootstrapping success rate index solver. The experimental results indicate that the new method can significantly improve the fixation rate of ambiguity among network RTK reference stations and thus effectively improve the reliability of positioning results.

Evaluation of Network RTK Positioning Performance Based on BDS-3 New Signal System

The BeiDou navigation satellite system (BDS-3) has been deployed and provides positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) services for users all over the world. On the basis of BDS-2 system signals, BDS-3 adds B1C, B2a, B2b, and other signals to realize compatibility and interoperability with other global navigation satellite systems (GNSS). Network real-time kinematic (RTK) technology is an important real-time regional high-precision GNSS positioning technology. Combined with the network RTK high-precision service platform software developed by the author’s research group and the measured data of a provincial continuously operating reference station (CORS) in Hubei, this paper preliminarily evaluates the network RTK service performance under the new signal system of BDS-3. The results show that single BDS-3 adopts the new signal combination (B1C+B2a) and transition signal combination (B1I+B3I) when providing virtual reference station (VRS) services, the RTK fixation rate of the terminal is above 95%, and the horizontal and elevation accuracies are within 1cm and 2 cm, respectively, which meets the requirements of providing high-precision network RTK services by a single BDS-3 system. In addition, the positioning accuracy of BDS-2 is relatively poor, while the accuracy of BDS-3 is better than global positioning systems (GPS) and BDS-2. The combined processing effect of the B1I+B3I transition signal of BDS-2/3 is optimal, the accuracy of E and N directions is better than 0.5 cm, and the accuracy of U direction is better than 1.5 cm. It can be seen from the atmosphere correction accuracy, regional error modeling accuracy, and network RTK terminal positioning accuracy that the service effect of the B1C+B2a combination is slightly better than that of the B1I+B3I combination. When a single BDS-3 constellation provides network RTK services, it is recommended to use the B1C+B2a combination as the main frequency solution, and when the BDS-2/3 constellation provides service, it is recommended to use the B1I+B3I combination as the main frequency solution.

Simulation of Daily Snow Depth Data in China Based on the NEX-GDDP

In this study, a backpropagation artificial neural network snow simulation model (BPANNSIM) is built using data collected from the National Climate Reference Station to obtain simulation data of China’s future daily snow depth in terms of representative concentration pathways (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5). The input layer of the BPANNSIM comprises the current day’s maximum temperature, minimum temperature, snow depth, and precipitation data, and the target layer comprises snow depth data of the following day. The model is trained and validated based on data from the National Climate Reference Station over a baseline period of 1986–2005. Validation results show that the temporal correlations of the observed and the model iterative simulated values are 0.94 for monthly cumulative snow cover duration and 0.88 for monthly cumulative snow depth. Subsequently, future daily snow depth data (2016–2065) are retrieved from the NEX-GDPP dataset (Washington, DC/USA: the National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA)Earth Exchange/Global Daily Downscaled Projections data), revealing that the simulation data error is highly correlated with that of the input data; thus, a validation method for gridded meteorological data is proposed to verify the accuracy of gridded meteorological data within snowfall periods and the reasonability of hydrothermal coupling for gridded meteorological data.

Relative Positioning in Remote Areas Using a GNSS Dual Frequency Smartphone

The use of GPS positioning and navigation capabilities in mobile phones is present in our daily lives for more than a decade, but never with the centimeter level of precision that can actually be reached with several of the most recent smartphones. The introduction of the new GNSS systems (Global Navigation Satellite Systems), the European system Galileo, is opening new horizons in a wide range of areas that rely on precise georeferencing, namely the mass market smartphones apps. The constant growth of this market has brought new devices with innovative capabilities in hardware and software. The introduction of the Android 7 by Google, allowing access to the GNSS raw code and phase measurements, and the arrival of the new chip from Broadcom BCM47755 providing dual frequency in some smartphones came to revolutionize the positioning performance of these devices as never seen before. The Xiaomi Mi8 was the first smartphone to combine those features, and it is the device used in this work. It is well known that it is possible to obtain centimeter accuracy with this kind of device in relative static positioning mode with distances to a reference station up to a few tens of kilometers, which we also confirm in this paper. However, the main purpose of this work is to show that we can also get good positioning accuracy using long baselines. We used the ability of the Xiaomi Mi8 to get dual frequency code and phase raw measurements from the Galileo and GPS systems, to do relative static positioning in post-processing mode using wide baselines, of more than 100 km, to perform precise surveys. The results obtained were quite interesting with RMSE below 30 cm, showing that this type of smartphone can be easily used as a low-cost device, for georeferencing and mapping applications. This can be quite useful in remote areas where the CORS networks are not dense or even not available.

Reassessment of the homogenization of daily maximum temperatures in the Netherlands since 1901

In 2016, the Royal Dutch Meteorological Office (KNMI) homogenized the daily temperature records for the Netherlands from 1901 to 1950 to allow a realistic comparison of the temperatures from 1901 to the present. The homogenizations for the main station De Bilt were carried out using a Percentile Matching Method (PMM) with one reference station and a 56-month reference period. In this study, it is shown that the corrections in the number of tropical days (maximum temperature ≥ 30 °C) depend strongly on the choice of the reference station and the length of the reference period. A total of 116 different variants of the homogenization of De Bilt were carried out, using all combinations of five reference stations, five reference periods, two ways to calculate percentiles, and two ways to smooth the data. The parameters used for the KNMI’s current homogenization of De Bilt result in a very sharp decrease of tropical days, which is not replicated by the majority of the 116 variants. Moreover, after homogenization, De Bilt appears to be an outlier compared to the other meteorological stations. Therefore, the current homogenized estimates of tropical days for De Bilt should be treated with considerable caution.

REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL GNSS DATA SHARING POLICY FRAMEWORKS AND PRACTICES

Global Navigation Satellite Systems, or GNSS, is a space technology that has become an important component of positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) in a broad variety of military and civilian applications. Accordingly, the GNSS is being supported with Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS) networks which are a common type of GNSS ground-based augmentation infrastructure that governments and industry use to distribute centimetre accurate PNT information throughout the nation or region. In Malaysia, there are few CORS networks currently in services. It was difficult to integrate CORS networks even within the country since the CORS operating came from several different organizations. Furthermore, the CORS data sharing between the public and private sectors in providing precise positioning applications also challenging issue due to the fact that the data contains sensitive information. The relevant policy document on data sharing in the country is still vague. This paper review on existing GNSS data sharing policy framework and practice at the international and national levels. A number of countries from each continents were chosen to be studied further in order to identify the requirements that could be considered for adoption. The goal of this study is to create a clear conceptual framework for GNSS data sharing in the country, as well as to resolve some grey areas between public and private GNSS users.

Precipitation Water Vapour Variation in the East Java Region from Data CORS Using GIPSY

The Global Navigation Satellite System is being developed as an atmospheric remote sensing system through the calculation of Zenith Total Delay. The development of the Continous Operating Reference Station encourages research investigations into Zenith Tropospheric Delay with continuous data and good spatial resolution. This research studies the characteristics of spatial and temporal variations of the Zenith Wet Delay in East Jawa. The case study in East Jawa Province uses 16 Continous Operating Reference Stations. As a comparison, meteorological data from the Badan Meteorologi, Klimatologi, and Geofisika stations are used.The Zenith Total Delay and Zenith Wet Delay values from the Continous Operating Reference Station data are calculated using GIPSY 6.4 Software. The Zenith Wet Delay values are gridded using the kriging method with the size of the grids being 0,25 x 0,25. The ZWD value comparison from the Continous Operating Reference Station and meteorology data has a strong correlation with a coefficient value of 0,712. The mean of Zenith Wet Delay’s trend is increasing by about 0,712 mm/yr. The characteristics of the spatial and temporal variations of the ZWD value are influenced by the monsoon of Asia-Australian, which causes dry and rainy seasons, global phenomena such as El Nino and La Nina, rainfall, local meteorological conditions such as temperature and humidity, weather, and the topography of the stations.

Determining earthquake epicentre from a single 3-component seismological station

An attempt has been made in this study to determine the epicentres by trigonometrical method from a single station using the three components of the ground's motion recorded by the Benioff Short Period Seismograph of the World Wide Standardized Seismograph Network (WWSSN) at Central Seismological Observatory (C.S.O.), Shillong. The trigonometrical method is based on the angle of bearing obtained from the ratio of the amplitudes of waves recorded on the horizontal components of the WWSSN seismograms. A comparison of recorded epicentres from the I.M.D. Seismological Network of Seismo, New Delhi with that of a single station i.e., C.S.O., Shillong has been made to estimate the accuracy of the method. The characteristics of the epicentral variations obtained from the Seismological Network of Seismo, New Delhi with that of C.S.O., Shillong are relatively small for local earthquakes compared to regional earthquakes with C.S.O., Shillong as the reference station. The characteristics of the epicentral variations particularly in the Shillong plateau are observed to be minimum. Strong correlations of epicentres are observed for both local as well as regional earthquake events.