2. Data Analysis: Theory
2.1 Introduction to GPS Measurements
High-precision geodetic measurements with GPS are performed using the carrier beat phase, the
output from a single phase-tracking channel of a GPS receiver. It is the difference between the
phase of the carrier wave implicit in the signal received from the satellite, and the phase of a local
oscillator within the receiver. The carrier beat phase can be measured with sufficient precision that
the instrumental resolution is a millimeter or less in equivalent path length. For the highest relativepositioning
accuracies, carrier beat phase observations must be obtained simultaneously at each
epoch from several stations (at least two), for several satellites (at least two), and at both the L1
(1575.42 MHz) and L2 (1227.6 MHz) GPS frequencies. The dominant source of error in a phase
measurement or series of measurements between a single satellite and ground station is the
unpredictable behavior of the time and frequency standards ("clocks") serving as reference for the
transmitter and receiver. Even though the GPS satellites carry atomic frequency standards, the
instability of these standards would still limit positioning to the several meter level were it not for
the possibility of eliminating their effect through signal differencing.
A second type of GPS measurement is the pseudo-range, obtained using the 300-m-wavelength CA
("coarse acquisition") code or 30-m-wavelength P ("protected") code transmitted by the satellites.
Pseudo-ranges provide the primary GPS observation for navigation but are not precise enough to be
used alone in geodetic surveys. However, they are useful for synchronizing receiver clocks,
resolving ambiguities and repairing cycle slips in phase observations, and as an adjunct to phase
observations in estimating satellite orbits.
For a single satellite, differencing the phases (or pseudo-ranges) of signals received simultaneously
at each of two ground stations eliminates the effect of bias or instabilities in the satellite clock. This
measurement is commonly called the between-stations-difference, or single-difference observable.
If the stations are closely spaced, differencing between stations also reduces the effects of
tropospheric and ionospheric refraction on the propagation of the radio signals If the ground
stations have hydrogen-maser oscillators (with stabilities approaching 1 part in 1015 over several
hours), then single differences can, in principle, be useful, as they are for VLBI. In practice,
however, it is seldom cost effective to use hydrogen masers and single difference observations in
GPS surveys. Rather, we form a double difference by differencing the between-station differences
also between satellites to cancel completely the effects of variations in the station clocks. In this
case the observations are just as accurate with low-cost crystal oscillators as with an atomic
frequency standard (though the use of the latter may make editing a bit easier).