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Rigorous GPS data-processing strategies for glaciological applications

journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-17, 15:14 authored by Matt KingMatt King
Global positioning system (GPS) data are now routinely used for many glaciological applications. In some common cases, systematic errors are unmodelled at the data-processing stage, although they are often presumed insignificant. In this paper, I investigate these assumptions for three different scenarios: (1) measurements on a moving glacier; (2) measurements on a floating ice shelf; and (3) precise height determination over large elevation ranges, such as for aircraft positioning in lidar/laser altimeter missions. In each case, systematic errors are shown to be present in the coordinate solutions that have a far greater magnitude than the formal error estimates produced by the GPS processing software, under certain conditions. If these coordinate biases go undetected, short- and long-term measurements of horizontal ice velocity or rates of ice-thickness change may be erroneous and the coordinates could not be expected to match rigorously processed data or results from different processing techniques. More rigorous processing strategies are discussed that allow for bias-free parameter estimation.

History

Publication title

Journal of Glaciology

Volume

50

Issue

171

Pagination

601-607

ISSN

0022-1430

Department/School

School of Geography, Planning and Spatial Sciences

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

Expanding knowledge in the earth sciences

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