Plug and Play GPS for Earth Scientists: Providing Immediate Access to Low-Latency Geodetic Products for Rapid Modeling and Analysis of Natural Hazards

Abstract:

Access to the benefits of having high precision, low-latency position time series from global GPS networks is currently limited by the need to have advanced expertise and systems for data acquisition and processing. We are taking steps to remove these barriers by developing a GPS data analysis system capable of processing all openly available data from over 13,500 continuously operating stations from around the globe. This rigorous and automated system will provide processing free of charge and will greatly ease access to GPS position time series that can be used for rapid modeling and analysis of natural hazards from earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, hydrologic changes, and other applications. It is envisioned that availability of this unique resource will encourage open sharing of data and products and enable building scientific capacity in areas that are currently sparsely sampled with GPS such as Africa.

We provide daily and 5-minute position time series and quality control products, with latency between 2 hours and 1 day. The users submit data to the UNAVCO archive where the Data Center services provide data ingestion, access, formatting and cataloging of accurate metadata including proper source attribution. UNR picks up hourly and/or daily data files from the UNAVCO archive and processes the data using products provided by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), including ultra-rapid GPS orbits and clock parameters, and JPL’s GIPSY OASIS II software. The processed time series are presented in global (IGS08) and North America (NA12) reference frames, together with post-processed station quality control data, are cataloged in a Geodetic Seamless Archive Centers (GSAC) database that is searchable and accessible via web browsers or via newly developed simple RESTful web services. In addition, station velocities are estimated and updated automatically every week. To ensure utility of the products, AfricaArray, USGS, and JPL collaborators are included in the testing and evaluation and short courses will provide training on how to provide data to the system and utilize products.