Absolute Positioning with Single-Frequency GPS Receivers

Abstract

The use of precise post-processed satellite orbits and satellite clock corrections in absolute positioning, using one GPS receiver only, has proven to be an accurate alternative to the more commonly used differential techniques for many applications in georeferencing.

The absolute approach is capable of centimeter accuracy when using state-of-the-art, dual-frequency GPS receivers. When using observations from single-frequency receivers, however, the accuracy, especially in height, decreases. The obvious reason for this degradation in accuracy is the effect of unmodeled ionospheric delay.

This paper discusses the availability of some empirical ionospheric models that are publicly available and quantifies their usefulness for absolute positioning using single-frequency GPS receivers. The Global Ionospheric Model supplied by International GPS Service (IGS) is the most accurate one and is recommended for absolute positioning using single-frequency GPS receivers. Using high-quality single-frequency observations, a horizontal epoch-to-epoch accuracy of better than 1 m and a vertical accuracy of approximately 1 m is demonstrated. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.