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IGS reference frames: status and future improvements

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Abstract

The hierarchy of reference frames used in the International GPS Service (IGS) and the procedures and rationale for realizing them are reviewed. The Conventions of the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS) lag developments in the IGS in a number of important respects. Recommendations are offered for changes in the IERS Conventions to recognize geocenter motion (as already implemented by the IGS) and to enforce greater model consistency in order to achieve higher precision for combined reference frame products. Despite large improvements in the internal consistency of IGS product sets, defects remain which should be addressed in future developments. If the IGS is to remain a leader in this area, then a comprehensive, long-range strategy should be formulated and pursued to maintain and enhance the IGS reference frame, as well as to improve its delivery to users. Actions should include the official designation of a high-performance reference tracking network whose stations are expected to meet the highest standards possible.

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Acknowledgements

We are deeply indebted to Jan Kouba for his invaluable assistance, and to Gérard Petit, Remi Ferland, Gerd Gendt, Geoff Blewitt, Peter Clarke, Tonie van Dam, Richard Ray, and Ken Senior for their advice and contributions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bureau International des Poids et Mesures Sevres, France and U.S. National Geodetic Survey Silver Spring, Maryland, USA

    J. Ray

  2. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Passadena, California, USA

    D. Dong

  3. Institut Géographique National, Paris, France

    Z. Altamimi

Authors
  1. J. Ray
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  2. D. Dong
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  3. Z. Altamimi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to J. Ray.

Additional information

Also published in the proceedings of the workshop and symposium “Celebrating a Decade of the International GPS Service,” Astronomical Institute, University of Bern, Switzerland.

Appendix: IGS00 stability tests

Appendix: IGS00 stability tests

Tests have been carried out in an attempt to assess the long-term stability of IGS reference frame realizations as the number of fiducial stations is varied. We start with the IGb00 frame consisting of about 99 stations (more, including some decommissioned stations). Four independent subnetworks of about 25 stations each were selected, trying to keep each equally well distributed globally. The IGS weekly SINEX files were then combined into individual long-term solutions over the period from week 999 (February 28, 1999) through 1,240 (October 18, 2003) while minimally attaching in turn each 25-station frame as a datum. Then, the Helmert parameter differences for all six possible pairs of independent realizations of IGb00 were examined. The average rate differences are shown in Table 7. The same procedure was repeated using three pairs of 50-station realizations, also shown in Table 7.

Table 7 Estimated instability in IGS global networks versus number of reference stations
Full size table

Surprisingly, we found that the improvement in stability in going from 25 to 50 reference stations was very close to a factor of two. Obviously, the results could be limited by the small number of independent realizations available. Nevertheless, using the results available, we have extrapolated the apparent 1/N behavior to infer an estimated instability for the full IGb00 network, shown in the rightmost column of Table 7.

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Ray, J., Dong, D. & Altamimi, Z. IGS reference frames: status and future improvements. GPS Solutions 8, 251–266 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10291-004-0110-x

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