3 research outputs found
Tropospheric delays in ground-based GNSS Multipath Reflectometry – experimental evidence from coastal sites
Recent studies have demonstrated the utility of ground based GNSS Multipath Reflectometry (GNSS-MR) for sea level studies. Typical root-mean-square (RMS) differences of GNSS-MR derived sea level time series with respect to nearby tide gauges are on the order of 6 – 40 cm, sufficiently accurate to estimate tidal and secular sea level variations but are possibly biased due to delay of the signal through the troposphere. In this study we investigate the tropospheric effect from more than 20 GNSS coastal sites located from several meters up to 280 m above sea level. We find a bias in the estimated heights that is elevation and height dependent and can reach orders of 1 m for a 90 m site. Without correcting for tropospheric delay we find that GNSS-MR estimated tidal coefficients will be smaller than their true amplitudes by around 2% while phases seem unaffected. Correcting for the tropospheric delay also improves levelling results as a function of reflector height. Correcting for the tropospheric delay in GNSS-MR for sea level studies is therefore highly recommended for all sites no matter the height of the antenna above the sea surface as it manifests as a scale error
Assessment of modernized GPS L5 SNR for ground-based multipath reflectometry applications
Atmospheric signal propagation
GNSS satellites emit signals which propagate as
electromagnetic waves through space to the receivers
which are located on or near the Earth’s surface
or on other satellites. Thereby, electromagnetic
waves travel through the ionosphere and the neutral
atmosphere (troposphere) which causes signals
to be delayed, damped and refracted as the refractivity
index of the propagation media is not equal
to one. In this chapter, the nature and effects of
GNSS signal propagation in both the troposphere
and the ionosphere, is examined. After a brief review
of the fundamentals of electromagnetic waves
their propagation in refractive media, the effects of
the neutral atmosphere are discussed. In addition
empirical correction models as well as state-of-
the-art atmosphere delay estimation approaches
are presented. Effects related to signal propagtion
through the ionosphere are dealt in a dedicated section
by describing the error contribution of first up to
third order terms in the refractive index and ray path
bending. After discussing diffraction and scattering
phenomena due to ionospheric irregularities, mitigation
techniques for different types of applications
are presented