IssuesinGPSErrorAnalysis.pptVIP

Issues in GPS Error Analysis What are the sources of the errors ? How much of the error can we remove by better modeling ? Do we have enough information to infer the uncertainties from the data ? What mathematical tools can we use to represent the errors and uncertainties ? Determining the Uncertainties of GPS Estimates of Station Velocities Rigorous estimate of uncertainties requires full knowledge of the error spectrum—both temporal and spatial correlations (never possible) Sufficient approximations are often available by examining time series (phase and/or position) and reweighting data Whatever the assumed error model and tools used to implement it, external validation is important Sources of Error Signal propagation effects Receiver noise Ionospheric effects Signal scattering ( antenna phase center / multipath ) Atmospheric delay (mainly water vapor) Unmodeled motions of the station Monument instability Loading of the crust by atmosphere, oceans, and surface water Unmodeled motions of the satellites Characterizations of Time-series Noise Power law: slope of line fit to spectrum 0 = white noise -1 = flicker noise -2 = random walk Non-integer spectral index (e.g. “fraction white noise” ? 1 k -1 ) Good discussion in Williams [2003] Problems: No model captures reliably the lowest-frequency part of the spectrum Noise is often non-stationary “Realistic Sigma” Algorithm Motivation: computational efficiency, handle time series with varying lengths and data gaps Concept: The departure from a white-noise (sqrt n) reduction in noise with averaging provides a measure of correlated noise. Implementation: Fit the values of chi2 vs averaging time to a first-order Gauss-Markov (FOGM) process (amplitude, correlation time) Use the chi2 value for infinite averaging time predicted from this model to scale the white-noise sigma estimates from the original fit and/or Fit the values to a FOGM with infinite averaging time (i.e., random walk) and use these estimates as