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GNSS, Space Weather and TEC Special Features
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GNSS, Space Weather and TEC Special Features

A special issue of Remote Sensing (ISSN 2072-4292). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Remote Sensing".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2022) | Viewed by 43342

Printed Edition Available!
A printed edition of this Special Issue is available here.

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Serdjo Kos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Maritime Studies, University of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia
Interests: GNSS; space weather; satellite positioning errors; GNSS risk assessment; inonospheric monitoring for GNSS; GeoRSS systems and technologies
Prof. Dr. José Fernández

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Instituto de Geociencias IGEO (CSIC-UCM), Madrid, Spain
Interests: geodesy; InSAR; GNSS; deformation modeling; natural and anthropogenic hazards
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Juan F. Prieto

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Departamento de Ingeniería Topográfica y Cartografía, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Interests: geodesy; InSAR; GNSS; deformation modeling; natural and anthropogenic hazards; engineering geodesy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the domain of electronic navigation, satellite navigation (GNSS) is one of the most important complex systems of today. GNSS is a key infrastructure to support the development and improvement of power grid systems, banking operations, global transportation systems, and global communication systems. Today, GNSS requires the use of several positioning networks and sensors, such as radio networks and MEMS, among others. The Earth’s atmosphere, especially ionosphere, troposphere, etc., is a huge laboratory where multiple processes and phenomena directly affecting the propagation of EM waves occur. Like all complex systems, GNSS technology also goes through certain evolutionary stages. Among other things, factors affecting the future evolution of GNSS technology include the appearance of new signals and frequencies, complementary technologies in use, etc., but in the domain of GNSS technologies, it is essential to study the impact of space weather on GNSS systems. A part of the research segment related to GNSS technologies is also the vertical TEC distribution and anomalies related to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions on Earth. There are many challenges that need to be addressed, because they affect reliability, accuracy, and all other essential parameters of the GNSS systems.

This Special Issue seeks to answer some of these issues by publishing manuscripts which study GNSS risk assessment, different effects of space weather disturbances on the operation of the GNSS systems, study of environmental impacts on the operation of GNSS systems, GNSS positioning error budget, TEC special features in volcano eruptions, and similar topics.

Prof. Dr. Serdjo Kos
Prof. Dr. José Fernández
Prof. Dr. Juan F. Prieto
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Remote Sensing is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • GNSS technique/technology
  • GNSS positioning error budget
  • TEC special features
  • GNSS risk assessment
  • Environmental impact on GNSS applications
  • GNSS satellite orbit determination

Published Papers (18 papers)

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Editorial

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8 pages, 227 KiB  
Editorial
Editorial for the Special Issue “GNSS, Space Weather and TEC Special Features”
by Serdjo Kos, José Fernández and Juan F. Prieto
Remote Sens. 2023, 15(5), 1182; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs15051182 - 21 Feb 2023
Viewed by 1038
Abstract
For high-quality scientific communication in the field of technical and natural sciences, it is of utmost importance to ensure clarity of the text, logical mathematical argumentation, and the possibility of verifying the obtained theoretical results using appropriate experiments [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue GNSS, Space Weather and TEC Special Features)

Research

Jump to: Editorial, Other

24 pages, 10482 KiB  
Article
A New Approach for Improving GNSS Geodetic Position by Reducing Residual Tropospheric Error (RTE) Based on Surface Meteorological Data
by Mario Bakota, Serdjo Kos, Zoran Mrak and David Brčić
Remote Sens. 2023, 15(1), 162; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs15010162 - 27 Dec 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1800
Abstract
Positioning error components related to tropospheric and ionospheric delays are caused by the atmosphere in positioning determined by global navigation satellite systems (GNSS). Depending on the user’s requirements, the position error caused by tropospheric influences, which is commonly referred to as zenith tropospheric [...] Read more.
Positioning error components related to tropospheric and ionospheric delays are caused by the atmosphere in positioning determined by global navigation satellite systems (GNSS). Depending on the user’s requirements, the position error caused by tropospheric influences, which is commonly referred to as zenith tropospheric delay (ZTD), must be estimated during position determination or determined later by external tropospheric corrections. In this study, a new approach was adopted based on the reduction of residual tropospheric error (RTE), i.e., the unmodeled part of the tropospheric error that remains included in the total geodetic position error, along with other unmodeled systematic and random errors. The study was performed based on Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) positioning solutions and accompanying meteorological parameters in a defined and harmonized temporal-spatial frame of three locations in the Republic of Croatia. A multidisciplinary approach-based analysis from a navigational science aspect was applied. The residual amount of satellite positioning signal tropospheric delay was quantitatively reduced by employing statistical analysis methods. The result of statistical regression is a model which correlates surface meteorological parameters with RTE. Considering the input data, the model has a regional character, and it is based on the Saastamoinen model of zenith tropospheric delay. The verification results show that the model reduces the RTE and thus increases the geodetic accuracy of the observed GNSS stations (with horizontal components of position accuracy of up to 3.8% and vertical components of position of up to 4.37%, respectively). To obtain these results, the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) was used as the fundamental parameter for position accuracy evaluation. Although developed based on GLONASS data, the proposed model also shows a considerable degree of success in the verification of geodetic positions based on Global Positioning System (GPS). The purpose of the research, and one of its scientific contributions, is that the proposed method can be used to quantitatively monitor the dynamics of changes in deviations of X, Y, and Z coordinate values along coordinate axes. The results show that there is a distinct interdependence of the dynamics of Y and Z coordinate changes (with almost mirror symmetry), which has not been investigated and published so far. The resultant position of the coordinates is created by deviations of the coordinates along the Y and Z axes—in the vertical plane of space, the deviations of the coordinate X (horizontal plane) are mostly uniform and independent of deviations along the Y and Z axes. The proposed model shows the realized state of the statistical position equilibrium of the selected GNSS stations which were observed using RTE values. Although of regional character, the model is suitable for application in larger areas with similar climatological profiles and for users who do not require a maximum level of geodetic accuracy achieved by using Satellite-Based Augmentation Systems (SBAS) or other more advanced, time-consuming, and equipment-consuming positioning techniques. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue GNSS, Space Weather and TEC Special Features)
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16 pages, 2332 KiB  
Article
Assessment of the Water Vapor Tomography Based on Four Navigation Satellite Systems and Their Various Combinations
by Fei Yang, Jinyang Wang, Hongsen Wang, Xu Gong, Lei Wang and Bin Huang
Remote Sens. 2022, 14(15), 3552; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs14153552 - 24 Jul 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1294
Abstract
With the gradual improvement of Galileo and the opening of BDS-3 services, water vapor tomography based on multi-GNSS can be effectively carried out to reconstruct three-dimensional water vapor distribution. In this paper, experiments in Hong Kong were conducted to analyze and assess the [...] Read more.
With the gradual improvement of Galileo and the opening of BDS-3 services, water vapor tomography based on multi-GNSS can be effectively carried out to reconstruct three-dimensional water vapor distribution. In this paper, experiments in Hong Kong were conducted to analyze and assess the performances of GPS, BDS, GLONASS, and Galileo and their combinations in water vapor tomography. Numerical results show that the number of available signal rays varies widely in the four satellite systems, and the value can be increased by the combination of satellite systems; the combinations also increase the number of voxels crossed by signal rays, but this value is not directly related to the number of available signal rays; the number and distribution of the voxels with sufficient signal rays, which most closely related to the structure of the tomographic model, show no obvious differences in the four satellite systems and their combinations. Comparative results of slant water vapor (SWV) estimated by GNSS data and water vapor density derived from radiosonde data reveal that the differences in the water vapor tomography of the four satellite systems are small, and their combinations have limited improvement in the tomographic results. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue GNSS, Space Weather and TEC Special Features)
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11 pages, 3866 KiB  
Communication
Phase Centre Corrections of GNSS Antennas and Their Consistency with ATX Catalogues
by Lukasz Borowski, Jacek Kudrys, Bartosz Kubicki, Martina Slámová and Kamil Maciuk
Remote Sens. 2022, 14(13), 3226; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs14133226 - 05 Jul 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2513
Abstract
Changes of the antenna models on permanent global navigation satellite system (GNSS) stations can lead to jumps and discontinuities in the coordinate time series. In this paper, the results of research on the adequacy of the antenna phase centre corrections (PCC) variations are [...] Read more.
Changes of the antenna models on permanent global navigation satellite system (GNSS) stations can lead to jumps and discontinuities in the coordinate time series. In this paper, the results of research on the adequacy of the antenna phase centre corrections (PCC) variations are presented by analysing its component—the antennas’ phase centre offset (PCO). For this purpose, height differences were determined using different and independent methods: EUREF Permanent Network (EPN) combined solutions, Precise Point Positioning (PPP), and the single baseline solution. The results of GNSS processing were referenced to direct geometric levelling outputs. The research was conducted only within the global positioning system (GPS) system due to the compatibility of one of the receivers, and the experiment was based on a comparison of the height differences between four GNSS antennas located on the roof of a building: two permanent station antennas and two auxiliary points. The antennas were located at similar heights; precise height differences were determined by geometric levelling, both at the beginning and the end of the session. Post-processing was conducted with the use of the GPS system, precise ephemeris, the adopted antenna correction model, and a zero-elevation mask. For one of the antennas, a change of the antenna characteristic model from IGS08 to IGS14 leads to an 8-mm difference in height. Older antennas used in the national (or transnational) permanent network need individual PCC. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue GNSS, Space Weather and TEC Special Features)
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14 pages, 4690 KiB  
Communication
Comparative Study of Predominantly Daytime and Nighttime Lightning Occurrences and Their Impact on Ionospheric Disturbances
by Louis Osei-Poku, Long Tang, Wu Chen, Mingli Chen and Akwasi Afrifa Acheampong
Remote Sens. 2022, 14(13), 3209; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs14133209 - 04 Jul 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1940
Abstract
Space weather events adversely impact the operations of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). Understanding space weather mechanisms, interactions in the atmosphere, and the extent of their impact are useful in developing prediction and mitigation models. In this study, the hourly lightning occurrence and [...] Read more.
Space weather events adversely impact the operations of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). Understanding space weather mechanisms, interactions in the atmosphere, and the extent of their impact are useful in developing prediction and mitigation models. In this study, the hourly lightning occurrence and its impact on ionospheric disturbances, quantified using the Rate of Total electron content Index (ROTI), were assessed. The linear correlation between diurnal lightning activity and ROTI in the coastal region of southern China where lightning predominates in the daytime was initially negative contrary to a positive correlation in southern Africa where lighting predominates in the evening. After appreciating and applying the physical processes of gravity waves, electromagnetic waves and the Trimpi effect arising from lightning activity, and the time delay impact they have on the ionosphere, the negative correlation was overturned to a positive one using cross-correlation. GNSS has demonstrated its capability of revealing the impact lightning has on the ionosphere at various times of the day. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue GNSS, Space Weather and TEC Special Features)
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Graphical abstract

27 pages, 8127 KiB  
Article
Retrieval of Soil Moisture Content Based on Multisatellite Dual-Frequency Combination Multipath Errors
by Shihai Nie, Yanxia Wang, Jinsheng Tu, Peng Li, Jianhui Xu, Nan Li, Mengke Wang, Danni Huang and Jia Song
Remote Sens. 2022, 14(13), 3193; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs14133193 - 03 Jul 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1642
Abstract
Global navigation satellite system interferometric reflectometry (GNSS-IR) is a new type of microwave remote sensing technology that can measure soil moisture content (SMC). GNSS-IR soil moisture retrieval methods based on the satellite signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and triple-frequency signal combination have the following shortcomings: [...] Read more.
Global navigation satellite system interferometric reflectometry (GNSS-IR) is a new type of microwave remote sensing technology that can measure soil moisture content (SMC). GNSS-IR soil moisture retrieval methods based on the satellite signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and triple-frequency signal combination have the following shortcomings: SNR does not always exist in the original GNSS file, and the number of triple-frequency signal observation satellites is small, resulting in GNSS-IR soil moisture observation time resolution being low. Based on the above problems, in this study, we constructed a soil moisture inversion method based on multisatellite dual-frequency combined multipath error is proposed: the multipath error calculation model of dual-frequency carrier phase (L4 Ionosphere Free, L4_IF) and dual-frequency pseudorange (DFP) without ionospheric effect is constructed. We selected the data of the five epochs before and after the time point of the effective satellite period to construct the multipath error model and error equation, and we solved the delay phase for soil moisture retrieval. We verified the method using Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO) P041 site data. The results showed that the Pearson correlation coefficients (R) of L4_IF and DFP methods at P041 station are 0.97 and 0.91, respectively. To better verify the results’ reliability and the proposed method’s effectiveness, the soil moisture data of the MFLE station about 210 m away from P041 station are used as the verification data in this paper. The results showed that the delay phase solved by multipath error and soil moisture strongly correlate. Pearson correlation coefficients (R) of L4_IF and DFP methods at MFLE station are 0.93 and 0.86, respectively. In order to improve the inversion accuracy of GNSS-IR soil moisture, this paper constructs the prediction model of soil moisture by using the linear regression (ULR), back propagation neural network (BPNN) and radial basis function neural network (RBFNN), and evaluates the accuracy of each model. The results showed that the soil moisture retrieval method based on multisatellite dual-frequency combined multipath error can replace the traditional retrieval method and effectively improve the time resolution of GNSS-IR soil moisture estimation. To perform highly dynamic monitoring of soil moisture, higher retrieval accuracy can only be obtained with a small epoch multipath error. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue GNSS, Space Weather and TEC Special Features)
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18 pages, 3382 KiB  
Article
Regional Ionospheric Corrections for High Accuracy GNSS Positioning
by Tam Dao, Ken Harima, Brett Carter, Julie Currie, Simon McClusky, Rupert Brown, Eldar Rubinov and Suelynn Choy
Remote Sens. 2022, 14(10), 2463; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs14102463 - 20 May 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2041
Abstract
Centimetre-level accurate ionospheric corrections are required for a high accuracy and rapid convergence of Precise Point Positioning (PPP) GNSS positioning solutions. This research aims to evaluate the accuracy of a local/regional ionospheric delay model using a linear interpolation method across Australia. The accuracy [...] Read more.
Centimetre-level accurate ionospheric corrections are required for a high accuracy and rapid convergence of Precise Point Positioning (PPP) GNSS positioning solutions. This research aims to evaluate the accuracy of a local/regional ionospheric delay model using a linear interpolation method across Australia. The accuracy of the ionospheric corrections is assessed as a function of both different latitudinal regions and the number and spatial density of GNSS Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORSs). Our research shows that, for a local region of 5° latitude ×10° longitude in mid-latitude regions of Australia (~30° to 40°S) with approximately 15 CORS stations, ionospheric corrections with an accuracy of 5 cm can be obtained. In Victoria and New South Wales, where dense CORS networks exist (nominal spacing of ~100 km), the average ionospheric corrections accuracy can reach 2 cm. For sparse networks (nominal spacing of >200 km) at lower latitudes, the average accuracy of the ionospheric corrections is within the range of 8 to 15 cm; significant variations in the ionospheric errors of some specific satellite observations during certain periods were also found. In some regions such as Central Australia, where there are a limited number of CORSs, this model was impossible to use. On average, centimetre-level accurate ionospheric corrections can be achieved if there are sufficiently dense (i.e., nominal spacing of approximately 200 km) GNSS CORS networks in the region of interest. Based on the current availability of GNSS stations across Australia, we propose a set of 15 regions of different ionospheric delay accuracies with extents of 5° latitude ×10° longitude covering continental Australia. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue GNSS, Space Weather and TEC Special Features)
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21 pages, 6573 KiB  
Article
A Graph Convolutional Incorporating GRU Network for Landslide Displacement Forecasting Based on Spatiotemporal Analysis of GNSS Observations
by Yanan Jiang, Huiyuan Luo, Qiang Xu, Zhong Lu, Lu Liao, Huajin Li and Lina Hao
Remote Sens. 2022, 14(4), 1016; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs14041016 - 19 Feb 2022
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 3244
Abstract
Landslide displacement prediction is crucial for the early warning of slope failure but remains a challenging task due to its spatiotemporal complexity. Although temporal dependency has been well studied and discussed, spatial dependence is relatively less explored due to its significant variations of [...] Read more.
Landslide displacement prediction is crucial for the early warning of slope failure but remains a challenging task due to its spatiotemporal complexity. Although temporal dependency has been well studied and discussed, spatial dependence is relatively less explored due to its significant variations of the spatial structure of landslides. In this study, a novel graph convolutional incorporating GRU network (GC-GRU-N) is proposed and applied to landslide displacement forecasts. The model conducts attribute-augmented graph convolution (GC) operations on GNSS displacement data with weighted adjacency matrices and an attribute-augmented unit to combine features, including the displacements, the distance, and other external influence factors to capture spatial dependence. The output of multi-weight graph convolution is then applied to the gated recurrent unit (GRU) network to learn temporal dependencies. The related optimal hyper-parameters are determined by comparison experiments. When applied to two typical landslide sites in the Three Gorge Reservoir (TGR), China, GC-GRU-N outperformed the comparative models in both cases. The ablation experiment results also show that the attribute augmentation, which considers external factors of landslide displacement, can further improve the model’s prediction performance. We conclude that the GC-GRU-N model can provide robust landslide displacement forecasting with high efficiency. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue GNSS, Space Weather and TEC Special Features)
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16 pages, 6129 KiB  
Article
Seasonal and Interhemispheric Effects on the Diurnal Evolution of EIA: Assessed by IGS TEC and IRI-2016 over Peruvian and Indian Sectors
by Xin Wan, Jiahao Zhong, Chao Xiong, Hui Wang, Yiwen Liu, Qiaoling Li, Jiawei Kuai and Jun Cui
Remote Sens. 2022, 14(1), 107; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs14010107 - 27 Dec 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2310
Abstract
The global total electron content (TEC) map in 2013, retrieved from the International Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) Service (IGS), and the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI-2016) model are used to monitor the diurnal evolution of the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA). The statistics are [...] Read more.
The global total electron content (TEC) map in 2013, retrieved from the International Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) Service (IGS), and the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI-2016) model are used to monitor the diurnal evolution of the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA). The statistics are conducted during geomagnetic quiet periods in the Peruvian and Indian sectors, where the equatorial electrojet (EEJ) data and reliable TEC are available. The EEJ is used as a proxy to determine whether the EIA structure is fully developed. Most of the previous studies focused on the period in which the EIA is well developed, while the period before EIA emergence is usually neglected. To characterize dynamics accounting for the full development of EIA, we defined and statistically analyzed the onset, first emergence, and the peaks of the northern crest and southern crest based on the proposed crest-to-trough difference (CTD) profiles. These time points extracted from IGS TEC show typical annual cycles in the Indian sector which can be summarized as winter hemispheric priority, i.e., the development of EIA in the winter hemisphere is ahead of that in the summer hemisphere. However, these same time points show abnormal semiannual cycles in the Peruvian sector, that is, EIA develops earlier during two equinoxes/solstices in the northern/southern hemisphere. We suggest that the onset of EIA is a consequence of the equilibrium between sunlight ionization and ambipolar diffusion. However, the latter term is not considered in modeling the topside ionosphere in IRI-2016, which results in a poor capacity in IRI to describe the diurnal evolution of EIA. Meridional neutral wind’s modulation on the ambipolar diffusion can explain the annual cycle observed in the Indian sector, while the semiannual variation seen in the Peruvian sector might be due to additional competing effects induced by the F region height changes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue GNSS, Space Weather and TEC Special Features)
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23 pages, 13412 KiB  
Article
Evaluating Total Electron Content (TEC) Detrending Techniques in Determining Ionospheric Disturbances during Lightning Events in A Low Latitude Region
by Louis Osei-Poku, Long Tang, Wu Chen and Chen Mingli
Remote Sens. 2021, 13(23), 4753; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs13234753 - 24 Nov 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2090
Abstract
Total Electron Content (TEC) from Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) is used to ascertain the impact of space weather events on navigation and communication systems. TEC is detrended by several methods to show this impact. Information from the detrended TEC may or may [...] Read more.
Total Electron Content (TEC) from Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) is used to ascertain the impact of space weather events on navigation and communication systems. TEC is detrended by several methods to show this impact. Information from the detrended TEC may or may not necessarily represent a geophysical parameter. In this study, two commonly used detrending methods, Savitzky–Golay filter and polynomial fitting, are evaluated during thunderstorm events in Hong Kong. A two-step approach of detection and distinguishing is introduced alongside linear correlation in order to determine the best detrending model. Savitzky–Golay filter on order six and with a time window length of 120 min performed the best in detecting lightning events, and had the highest moderate positive correlation of 0.4. That the best time frame was 120 min suggests that the observed disturbances could be travelling ionospheric disturbance (TID), with lightning as the potential source. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue GNSS, Space Weather and TEC Special Features)
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Graphical abstract

18 pages, 11190 KiB  
Article
Determination of Navigation System Positioning Accuracy Using the Reliability Method Based on Real Measurements
by Mariusz Specht
Remote Sens. 2021, 13(21), 4424; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs13214424 - 03 Nov 2021
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 3569
Abstract
In navigation, the Twice the Distance Root Mean Square (2DRMS) is commonly used as a position accuracy measure. Its determination, based on statistical methods, assumes that the position errors are normally distributed and are often not reflected in actual measurements. As a result [...] Read more.
In navigation, the Twice the Distance Root Mean Square (2DRMS) is commonly used as a position accuracy measure. Its determination, based on statistical methods, assumes that the position errors are normally distributed and are often not reflected in actual measurements. As a result of the widespread adoption of this measure, the positioning accuracy of navigation systems is overestimated by 10–15%. In this paper, a new method is presented for determining the navigation system positioning accuracy based on a reliability model where the system’s operation and failure statistics are referred to as life and failure times. Based on real measurements, the method proposed in this article will be compared with the classical method (based on the 2DRMS measure). Real (empirical) measurements made by the principal modern navigation positioning systems were used in the analyses: Global Positioning System (GPS) (168’286 fixes), Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) (900’000 fixes) and European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) (900’000 fixes). Research performed on real data, many of which can be considered representative, have shown that the reliability method provides a better (compared to the 2DRMS measure) estimate of navigation system positioning accuracy. Thanks to its application, it is possible to determine the position error distribution of the navigation system more precisely when compared to the classical method, as well as to indicate those applications that can be used by this system, ensuring the safety of the navigation process. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue GNSS, Space Weather and TEC Special Features)
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21 pages, 6277 KiB  
Article
GNSS-IR Snow Depth Retrieval from Multi-GNSS and Multi-Frequency Data
by Jinsheng Tu, Haohan Wei, Rui Zhang, Lei Yang, Jichao Lv, Xiaoming Li, Shihai Nie, Peng Li, Yanxia Wang and Nan Li
Remote Sens. 2021, 13(21), 4311; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs13214311 - 26 Oct 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2885
Abstract
Global navigation satellite system interferometric reflectometry (GNSS-IR) represents an extra method to detect snow depth for climate research and water cycle managing. However, using a single frequency of GNSS-IR for snow depth retrieval is often found to be challenging when attempting to achieve [...] Read more.
Global navigation satellite system interferometric reflectometry (GNSS-IR) represents an extra method to detect snow depth for climate research and water cycle managing. However, using a single frequency of GNSS-IR for snow depth retrieval is often found to be challenging when attempting to achieve a high spatial and temporal sensitivity. To evaluate both the capability of the GNSS-IR snow depth retrieved by the multi-GNSS system and multi-frequency from signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) data, the accuracy of snow depth retrieval by different frequency signals from the multi-GNSS system is analyzed, and a joint retrieval is carried out by combining the multi-GNSS system retrieval results. The SNR data of the global positioning system (GPS), global orbit navigation satellite system (GLONASS), Galileo satellite navigation system (Galileo), and BeiDou navigation satellite system (BDS) from the P387 station of the U.S. Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO) are analyzed. A Lomb–Scargle periodogram (LSP) spectrum analysis is used to compare the difference in reflector height between the snow-free and snow surfaces in order to retrieve the snow depth, which is compared with the PBO snow depth. First, the different frequency retrieval results of the multi-GNSS system are analyzed. Then, the retrieval accuracy of the different GNSS systems is analyzed through multi-frequency mean fusion. Finally, the joint retrieval accuracy of the multi-GNSS system is analyzed through mean fusion. The experimental shows that the retrieval results of different frequencies of the multi-GNSS system have a strong correlation with the PBO snow depth, and that the accuracy is better than 10 cm. The multi-frequency mean fusion of different GNSS systems can effectively improve the retrieval accuracy, which is better than 7 cm. The joint retrieval accuracy of the multi-GNSS system is further improved, with a correlation coefficient (R) between the retrieval snow depth and the PBO snow depth of 0.99, and the accuracy is better than 3 cm. Therefore, using multi-GNSS and multi-frequency data to retrieve the snow depth has a good accuracy and feasibility. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue GNSS, Space Weather and TEC Special Features)
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22 pages, 14596 KiB  
Article
Fractal Nature of Advanced Ni-Based Superalloys Solidified on Board the International Space Station
by Vojislav Mitić, Cristina Serpa, Ivana Ilić, Markus Mohr and Hans-Jörg Fecht
Remote Sens. 2021, 13(9), 1724; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs13091724 - 29 Apr 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2047
Abstract
Materials science is highly significant in space program investigation, energy production and others. Therefore, designing, improving and predicting advanced material properties is a crucial necessity. The high temperature creep and corrosion resistance of Ni-based superalloys makes them important materials for turbine blades in [...] Read more.
Materials science is highly significant in space program investigation, energy production and others. Therefore, designing, improving and predicting advanced material properties is a crucial necessity. The high temperature creep and corrosion resistance of Ni-based superalloys makes them important materials for turbine blades in aircraft engines and land-based power plants. The investment casting process of turbine blades is costly and time consuming, which makes process simulations a necessity. These simulations require fundamental models for the microstructure formation. In this paper, we present advanced analytical techniques in describing the microstructures obtained experimentally and analyzed on different sample’s cross-sectional images. The samples have been processed on board the International Space Station using the MSL-EML device based on electromagnetic levitation principles. We applied several aspects of fractal analysis and obtained important results regarding fractals and Hausdorff dimensions related to the surface and structural characteristics of CMSX-10 samples. Using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Zeiss LEO 1550, we analyzed the microstructure of samples solidified in space and successfully performed the fractal reconstruction of the sample’s morphology. We extended the fractal analysis on the microscopic images based on samples solidified on earth and established new frontiers on the advanced structures prediction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue GNSS, Space Weather and TEC Special Features)
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13 pages, 5055 KiB  
Communication
CubeSat Observation of the Radiation Field of the South Atlantic Anomaly
by Pavel Kovář and Marek Sommer
Remote Sens. 2021, 13(7), 1274; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs13071274 - 26 Mar 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2457
Abstract
The movement of the South Atlantic Anomaly has been observed since the end of the last century by many spacecrafts equipped with various types of radiation detectors. All satellites that have observed the drift of the South Atlantic Anomaly have been exclusively large [...] Read more.
The movement of the South Atlantic Anomaly has been observed since the end of the last century by many spacecrafts equipped with various types of radiation detectors. All satellites that have observed the drift of the South Atlantic Anomaly have been exclusively large missions with heavy payload equipment. With the recent rapid progression of CubeSats, it can be expected that the routine monitoring of the South Atlantic Anomaly will be taken over by CubeSats in the future. We present one-and-a-half years of observations of the South Atlantic Anomaly radiation field measured by a CubeSat in polar orbit with an elevation of 540 km. The position is calculated by an improved centroid method that takes into account the area of the grid. The dataset consists of eight campaigns measured at different times, each with a length of 22 orbits (~2000 min). The radiation data were combined with GPS position data. We detected westward movement at 0.33°/year and southward movement at 0.25°/year. The position of the fluence maximum featured higher scatter than the centroid position. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue GNSS, Space Weather and TEC Special Features)
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16 pages, 6560 KiB  
Article
Landslide Deformation Prediction Based on a GNSS Time Series Analysis and Recurrent Neural Network Model
by Jing Wang, Guigen Nie, Shengjun Gao, Shuguang Wu, Haiyang Li and Xiaobing Ren
Remote Sens. 2021, 13(6), 1055; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs13061055 - 10 Mar 2021
Cited by 28 | Viewed by 3065
Abstract
The prediction of landslide displacement is a challenging and essential task. It is thus very important to choose a suitable displacement prediction model. This paper develops a novel Attention Mechanism with Long Short Time Memory Neural Network (AMLSTM NN) model based on Complete [...] Read more.
The prediction of landslide displacement is a challenging and essential task. It is thus very important to choose a suitable displacement prediction model. This paper develops a novel Attention Mechanism with Long Short Time Memory Neural Network (AMLSTM NN) model based on Complete Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition with Adaptive Noise (CEEMDAN) landslide displacement prediction. The CEEMDAN method is implemented to ingest landslide Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) time series. The AMLSTM algorithm is then used to realize prediction work, jointly with multiple impact factors. The Baishuihe landslide is adopted to illustrate the capabilities of the model. The results show that the CEEMDAN-AMLSTM model achieves competitive accuracy and has significant potential for landslide displacement prediction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue GNSS, Space Weather and TEC Special Features)
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18 pages, 54809 KiB  
Article
Contribution to the Research of the Effects of Etna Volcano Activity on the Features of the Ionospheric Total Electron Content Behaviour
by Ivan Toman, David Brčić and Serdjo Kos
Remote Sens. 2021, 13(5), 1006; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs13051006 - 06 Mar 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2653
Abstract
This research represents a contribution to the theory on the coupling of the volcanic activity and the ionospheric dynamics, represented by total electron content (TEC) patterns and their behaviour. The ionospheric response to the activity of the Etna volcano has been analysed using [...] Read more.
This research represents a contribution to the theory on the coupling of the volcanic activity and the ionospheric dynamics, represented by total electron content (TEC) patterns and their behaviour. The ionospheric response to the activity of the Etna volcano has been analysed using global navigation satellite system (GNSS)-derived TEC values, employing data from International GNSS Service (IGS) reference station near the volcano and on two distant IGS locations. Volcanic activity has been modelled using volcanic radiative power (VRP) data obtained by the Middle InfraRed Observation of Volcanic Activity (MIROVA) system. The estimated minimal night TEC values have been averaged over defined index days of the VRP increase. During the analysed period of 19 years, the volcano activity was categorised according to pre-defined criteria. The influence of current space weather and short-term solar activity on TEC near the volcano was systematically minimised. The results showed mean/median TEC increases of approximately +3 standard deviations from the overall mean values, with peak values placed approximately 5 days before the VRP increase and followed by general TEC depletion around the time of the actual volcanic activity increase. Additionally, TEC oscillation pattern was found over the volcano site with a half-period of 6.25 days. The main interpretation of results indicates that the volcanic activity has modified the ionospheric dynamics within the nearby ionospheric region before the actual VRP increase, and that the residual impact in the volcano’s surrounding area refers to terrestrial endogenous processes and air–earth currents. Those changes can be detected during criteria predefined in the research: during quiet space weather conditions, observing night-time TEC values and within the limits of low short-term solar influence. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue GNSS, Space Weather and TEC Special Features)
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15 pages, 5062 KiB  
Technical Note
Lithosphere Ionosphere Coupling Associated with Seismic Swarm in the Balkan Peninsula from ROB-TEC and GPS
by Lvquan Wei, Junyu Li, Lilong Liu, Liangke Huang, Dunyong Zheng, Xiangyu Tian, Ling Huang, Lv Zhou, Chao Ren and Hongchang He
Remote Sens. 2022, 14(19), 4759; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs14194759 - 23 Sep 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1255
Abstract
With the rapid development of global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) and their increasingly wide range of applications in atmospheric science, total electron content (TEC) data are widely used in the theoretical study of layer coupling related to seismicity. This study detected and analyzed [...] Read more.
With the rapid development of global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) and their increasingly wide range of applications in atmospheric science, total electron content (TEC) data are widely used in the theoretical study of layer coupling related to seismicity. This study detected and analyzed pre-earthquake ionospheric anomalies (PEIA) by using TEC data from the Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB), and analyzed coseismic ionospheric disturbance (CID) with vertical TEC (VTEC) from the GPS stations in earthquake preparation areas. The results show that PEIA appear to increase continuously from 08:00–12:00 UT in the 3 days before a seismic swarm of Mw > 5.0. The ionosphere over the seismogenic zones exhibited large-scale anomalies when multiple seismogenic zones of the Balkan Peninsula spatially and temporally overlapped. Moreover, the TEC around the earthquake centers showed a positive anomaly lasting for 7 h. In a single seismogenic zone in Greece, the TEC around the earthquake center reached over +3.42 TECu. In addition, the CID observed from GPS stations shows that with the increase in the number of earthquakes, the ionosphere over the seismogenic area is more obviously disturbed, and after three strong earthquakes, TEC suddenly decreased over the seismogenic area and formed a phenomenon similar to an ionospheric hole. We conclude that a lithosphere–atmosphere–ionosphere coupling mechanism existed before the seismic swarm appeared in the Balkan Peninsula. Earthquake-induced VTEC anomalies occurred more frequently within a 3–10 day window before the earthquake. This phenomenon is particularly evident when multiple seismogenic zones overlap spatiotemporally. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue GNSS, Space Weather and TEC Special Features)
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13 pages, 3894 KiB  
Technical Note
Multi-Station and Multi-Instrument Observations of F-Region Irregularities in the Taiwan–Philippines Sector
by Lung-Chih Tsai, Shin-Yi Su, Jun-Xian Lv, Terry Bullett and Chao-Han Liu
Remote Sens. 2022, 14(10), 2293; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs14102293 - 10 May 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1379
Abstract
In this study, a multi-station and multi-instrument system, organized and proposed for ionospheric scintillation and equatorial spread-F (ESF) specification and their associated motions in the Taiwan–Philippines sector, is outlined. The issues related to the scintillation and ESF event observed on 26 October 2021, [...] Read more.
In this study, a multi-station and multi-instrument system, organized and proposed for ionospheric scintillation and equatorial spread-F (ESF) specification and their associated motions in the Taiwan–Philippines sector, is outlined. The issues related to the scintillation and ESF event observed on 26 October 2021, at magnetic quiet conditions are presented and discussed. We first indicate the existence of a plasma bubble in the Taiwan–Philippines sector by using the FormoSat-7/Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate-2 (FS7/COSMIC2) GPS/GLONASS radio occultation observations. We verify the latitudinal extent of the tracked plasma bubble using the recorded ionograms from the Vertical Incidence Pulsed Ionospheric Radar located at Hualien, Taiwan. We further discuss the spatial and temporal variabilities of two-dimensional vertical scintillation index VS4 maps based on the simultaneous GPS L1-band signal measurements from 133 ground-based receivers located in Taiwan and the surrounding islands. We also operate two high-sampling, software-defined GPS receivers and characterize the targeted plasma irregularities by carrying out spectrum analyses of the received signal. As a result, the derived plasma irregularities moved eastward and northward. Furthermore, the smaller the irregularity scale, the higher the spectral index and the stronger the scintillation intensity were at lower latitudes on the aimed irregularity feature. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue GNSS, Space Weather and TEC Special Features)
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