Spectral analysis of GPS precise point positioning time series

Abstract:

This paper presents the results from performing spectral analysis on GPS positioning time series obtained from precise point positioning (PPP). The goal of this work was to evaluate the impact of different choices of processing strategies and models on GPS-based PPP. We studied the spectra of station positions, examined overall noise levels and identified the presence of spurious periodic signals. Testing various processing options allowed us to assess their effect on station position estimates. With the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s contribution to the second reprocessing campaign of the International GNSS Service (IGS) as our reference source for input orbits and clocks, we also considered the effects of using different orbit and clock products. This included products from the previous reprocessing campaign, which were fixed in the IGS05 reference frame, while recent products use the IGS08 frame. Of particular importance are our results from assessing the impact on the station position time series from the single-receiver ambiguity resolution capability offered by JPL’s reprocessing campaigns. Furthermore, our tests raise the possibility of distinguishing between PPP processing settings, input orbits and clocks, and station data and location-dependent effects as causes of these features.