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An enhanced strategy for GNSS data processing of massive networks

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Abstract

Although the computational burden of global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) data processing is nowadays already a big challenge, especially for huge networks, integrated processing of denser networks with data of multi-GNSS and multi-frequency is desired in the expectation of more accurate and reliable products. Based on the concept of carrier range, in this study, the precise point positioning with integer ambiguity resolution is engaged to obtain the integer ambiguities for converting carrier phases to carrier ranges. With such carrier ranges and pseudo-ranges, rigorous integrated processing is realized computational efficiently for the orbit and clock estimation using massive networks. The strategy is validated in terms of computational efficiency and product quality using data of the IGS network with about 460 stations. The experimental validation shows that the computation time of the new strategy increases gradually with the number of stations. It takes about 14 min for precise orbit and clock determination with 460 stations, while the current strategy needs about 82 min. The overlapping orbit RMS is reduced from 27.6 mm with 100 stations to 24.8 mm using the proposed strategy, and the RMS could be further reduced to 23.2 mm by including all 460 stations. Therefore, the new strategy could be applied to massive networks of multi-GNSS and multi-frequency receivers and possibly to achieve GNSS data products of higher quality.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Geoffrey Blewitt, Dr. Pascal Willis and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments which improved the manuscript significantly. We also thank IGS for providing the GNSS data and the precise products. The first author is financially supported by China Scholarship Council (CSC) for his study at the German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ). This work was also partly supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos.: 41374033 and 41304007) and the Changjiang Scholars program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Geodesy and Geomatics, Wuhan University, 129 Luoyu Road, Wuhan , 430079, Hubei, China

    Hua Chen & Weiping Jiang

  2. German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), Telegrafenberg, 14473 , Potsdam, Germany

    Hua Chen, Maorong Ge, Jens Wickert & Harald Schuh

  3. GNSS Research Center, Wuhan University, 129 Luoyu Road, Wuhan , 430079, Hubei, China

    Weiping Jiang

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  1. Hua Chen
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  5. Harald Schuh
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Correspondence to Hua Chen.

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Chen, H., Jiang, W., Ge, M. et al. An enhanced strategy for GNSS data processing of massive networks. J Geod 88, 857–867 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00190-014-0727-7

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