Abstract GLONASS (GLObal NAvigation Satellite System) and GPS (Global Positioning System) are the pioneer satellite navigation systems. The combined use of GPS and GLONASS data initially aroused interest, but research investigating both signals declined greatly in the late nineties due to the fast degradation that GLONASS suffered. However, after a plan to re-establish the system, in 2011 GLONASS returned to a complete constellation and global coverage. In addition to the reestablishment, the system also went through a modernization process, with new generations of satellites being developed, refinements of the time and reference systems and new control stations being installed. Besides the use of combined data, other factors that influence the positioning quality are the methods employed and the errors to which the transmitted signals are subject. Regarding errors, the ionosphere is an important source, especially for users of simple frequency receivers. Considering this scenario, the present work aimed to conduct a study of the GLONASS system, as well as to analyze the improvements presented in the positioning using its data combined with GPS data in different positioning methods, considering different ionospheric conditions. In general, it was possible to verify the viability of using GLONASS data combined with GPS in all the positioning methods evaluated. In general, it was possible to verify the viability of using GLONASS data combined with GPS in all the positioning methods evaluated, with improvement in more than 97% of the cases analyzed for point positioning and around 70% of the cases with relative positioning.

Resumo O GLONASS (GLObal NAvigation Satellite System) e o GPS (Global Positioning System) são os sistemas pioneiros de navegação global por satélite. A utilização combinada de dados GPS e GLONASS despertou interesse inicialmente, mas as pesquisas com investigação de ambos os sinais diminuíram muito no final da década de noventa devido à rápida degradação que o GLONASS sofreu. Porém, após um plano de restabelecimento do sistema, em 2011 o GLONASS voltou a contar com constelação completa e cobertura global. Além do restabelecimento, o sistema passou ainda por um processo de modernização, com novas gerações de satélites desenvolvidas, refinamentos dos sistemas de tempo e referência e novas estações de controle instaladas. Além do uso de dados combinados, outros fatores que influenciam a qualidade do posicionamento são os métodos empregados e os erros aos quais os sinais transmitidos estão sujeitos. Em relação aos erros, a ionosfera é uma importante fonte, especialmente para usuários de receptores de simples frequência. Com este cenário, o presente trabalho buscou realizar um estudo sobre o sistema GLONASS, bem como analisar as melhorias apresentadas no posicionamento utilizando seus dados combinados aos dados GPS em diferentes métodos de posicionamento, considerando diferentes condições ionosféricas. De modo geral, foi possível verificar a viabilidade do uso de dados GLONASS combinados ao GPS em todos os métodos de posicionamento avaliados, com melhoria em mais de 97% dos casos analisados para o posicionamento por ponto e em torno de 70% dos casos com posicionamento relativo.

ABSTRACT Air navigation is increasingly dependent on the use of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). It allows the determination of the aircraft’s position in all phases of the flight and brings many advantages. Although GNSS navigation results in gains, the radio signals from these systems are strongly influenced by the ionospheric environment. It introduces errors that can affect the accuracy, integrity, availability and continuity requirements established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The ionospheric layer has different behaviors depending on the latitude, time of day, season of the year, geomagnetic activity and solar cycle. Since Brazil is located in a region of low latitudes, it experiences a series of unique challenges when compared to regions of mid-latitudes. For this reason, the application of GNSS-based technologies in aviation over the Brazilian territory requires an in-depth assessment of the ionosphere effects. Therefore, the Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia (INCT) named GNSS Technology for Supporting Air Navigation was formed in 2017 to better assess the ionosphere impacts and assist government agencies and companies in the development of safe air navigation procedures over Brazil in a near future. This paper presents the most relevant advances achieved so far within this multidisciplinary project that involves Brazilian research centers and universities.

Abstract: The ionospheric scintillation associated to small-scale irregularities in the ionospheric layer can lead to performance degradation of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) signals, and the reduction of positioning accuracy. The influence of the ionospheric layer on the GNSS systems is expected to be different for each signal since it is transmitted on different carrier frequencies. This paper presents the results of a quantitative analysis of the scintillation amplitude of GPS (Global Positioning System) signals at L1, L2 and L5 frequencies, aiming to evaluate the impact of the ionospheric scintillation effects on the GPS frequencies. As the ionospheric scintillation may impact positioning accuracy, we also present an assessment of GPS point positioning using those frequencies. The GPS sample data were collected for 30 days between November and December 2014 at SJCE station located in São José dos Campos (SP), Brazil. Such a region is subjected to the equatorial anomaly effects being characterized by the occurrence of strong ionosphere scintillation. Considering the quantitative analysis, during the different levels of ionospheric scintillation presented a similar behavior, the magnitude of scintillations is small for the L1 signal and larger for L5. In general, the results confirmed that lower frequencies (L2 and L5) suffer more impact from intense scintillation than L1. Regarding the positioning assessment, the multi-frequency positioning was more accurate than single frequency. Considering dual-frequency positioning, results with L1-L2 were more accurate than those with L1-L5 signals. With single-frequency positioning, the L1 signal was more accurate compared to the L2 frequency.

Abstract: The ionosphere may not only degrade the accuracy of the GNSS positioning but also reduce its availability because there is a high dependence between signal losses and ionospheric irregularities. Irregularities in the Earth’s ionosphere may produce rapid fluctuations in phase and amplitude. These rapid fluctuations are called ionospheric scintillation. Thus, loss of signal can occur due to the effects of diffraction and refraction, which cause a weakening in the signal received by the GNSS receivers. In this way, this paper aims to evaluate the magnitude of ionospheric scintillation in Brazil and the performance of the positioning under its influence in the period of high solar activity in the current cycle (24), through the Spearman correlation analysis and the Wavelet periodogram. For that, three-year time series (2012 to 2014) of the S4 index and 3D MSE (Mean Squared Error) of three Brazilian stations with different ionospheric conditions were considered, PALM (near the Geomagnetic Equator) PRU2 (Equatorial region and Anomalies) and POAL (Mid-latitude region). Thus, it was possible to evaluate the correlation between the accuracy of the precise point positioning using only the C/A code of the GPS satellite and the S4 index. As a result, there was a correlation of 53% and 51%, using the Spearman method, for the PALM and PRU2 series, respectively. In addition, considering the analysis of space-frequency in relation to time by the Wavelet coherence method, a correlation of more than 70% is noted in the period of greatest 3D MSE concerning the spring and autumn equinox months.

Abstract: Nowadays GPS (Global Positioning System) and GLONASS (GLObal NAvigation Satellite System) are the main systems of GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems), also composed by Galileo and BeiDou. After a long period of degradation, GLONASS was modernized, and its constellation was reestablished in 2011. Considering this new scenario, with GPS and GLONASS full constellations, the interest in the combined use of both systems was renewed. Besides the constellations used, other factors are related to the positioning quality, for instance the ionospheric influence. Several studies have been performed aiming to assess GPS positioning quality as well as the ionospheric influence on it, but concerning GLONASS, there are still several possibilities of investigation. In this context, this research aimed to assess the GPS/GLONASS data point positioning performance considering Brazilian regions with different ionospheric behavior during periods of low and high ionospheric activity. Spatial and time ionospheric influence in the positioning performance were observed. Considering all configurations tested with 30-minute data, the use of GPS/GLONASS data provided better results in 97.35% of the cases when compared to autonomous GPS, the mean improvement was about 60 cm, which corresponds to 30%.

Abstract: In Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), the effects of neutral atmosphere in electromagnetic signal propagation impacts directly on the quality of the final estimated position, leading to errors in the metric order. Using an atmospheric model is a good strategy to minimize these errors, because it becomes possible to obtain a neutral atmospheric delay with the same spatial and temporal resolution, taking into consideration particularities of the atmosphere treated by a numerical model. The regional model of the Center for Weather Forecasting and Climate Studies (CPTEC) used in this paper has a spatial resolution of 15 km and a temporal resolution of 3 hours. Usually, the delay prediction of 3 hours is interpolated in time to GNSS applications and this can influence the quality of the values obtained in each interpolated epoch. Higher temporal resolutions can lead to lower errors in the final position. In this paper, the quality of delay predictions is evaluated for this atmospheric model with resolutions of 6 and 3 hours. The estimated delay, derived from meteorological data in the same location as the geodetic data, is considered as “truth”. The temporal resolution of 3 hours shows better results than using 6 hours, particularly for the hydrostatic component in the initial prediction period, RMSE of 1.25 cm was reduced to 0.2 cm in NEIA station.

Abstract One of the main error sources in GNSS positioning comes from the ionosphere, an atmospheric layer that stays in the signal path between the satellite and the receiver. For single frequency positioning, the ionospheric effects can be minimized by using an ionospheric model e.g. Klobuchar or NeQuick G. These models are respectively associated to GPS and Galileo systems through their navigation messages, which broadcast coefficients that describe the worldwide ionospheric behavior, and the calculated ionospheric delay is then applied in the pseudorange observations. In this paper, it is presented a comparison between these two models in multi-GNSS (GPS and Galileo) single frequency point positioning, considering two Brazilian stations at different magnetic latitudes, and covered months of weak and strong ionospheric activity from 2013 to 2018. The results indicate a better performance of NeQuick G model compared to the Klobuchar. Considering all the analyzed periods and stations, Klobuchar improves the positioning accuracy in 16% and 50% in periods of weak and strong ionospheric activity, respectively, while NeQuick G improves the accuracy in 31% and 55%.

Abstract Several approaches concerning the use in positioning of GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems) can be considered: systems, applied methods and errors that can affect the signals. Following the GLONASS (GLObal NAvigation Satellite System) constellation reestablishment (2011), there was renewed interest in its use with GPS (Global Positioning System). Different possibilities are available concerning applied methods, such as the virtual reference station (VRS) concept (it is possible to obtain data for a virtual station that does not physically exist, using data from a network). One of the main sources of error related to the GNSS signal, is the ionosphere. Many studies have been developed aiming to evaluate GPS positioning quality and influences that can affect it, but there are still several investigation possibilities concerning GLONASS. In this context, this research is intended to assess the GPS/GLONASS virtual data positioning performance considering regions and periods with different ionospheric behavior. A high correlation between the results from virtual and real data (Pearson’s correlation coefficients around 0.8) was noticed. GPS/GLONASS data performance presented better mean squared error results compared to GPS alone (average 3D improvement was 45 cm - 49%). In addition, it was possible to verify ionosphere influence in the positioning error, taking into account station region and period of the year.

O posicionamento com o sistema GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) é atualmente a técnica mais utilizada para se obter a localização sobre a superfície terrestre ou próxima a essa. Depois dos efeitos causados pela ionosfera, a refração que o sinal sofre ao ultrapassar a neutrosfera pode ser considerada como uma das maiores fontes de erro no sinal, a qual gera um atraso, que rebatida na direção zenital é denominado atraso zenital neutrosférico (ZND), ou ainda atraso zenital troposférico (ZTD - Zenithal Tropospheric Delay). Esse atraso gera erros no posicionamento GNSS quando o mesmo não é devidamente modelado. Os modelos de Previsão Numérica de Tempo (PNT) são boas alternativas para a modelagem do ZND, pois como são alimentados diariamente por observações da atmosfera, os mesmos, geram previsões do ZND capazes de captar suas oscilações espaciais e temporais. No CPTEC/INPE são desenvolvidos e operacionalizados modelos de PNT globais e regionais, sendo os últimos dedicados ao melhor detalhamento sobre a América do Sul. No Brasil está operacional no CPTEC/INPE um processo que gera tais previsões com resolução espacial de 15 km e temporal de 3 horas, além de outras versões que contemplam outras sofisticações. Para determinar o impacto dessas melhorias na qualidade das previsões do ZND, o presente trabalho apresenta uma avaliação robusta das versões disponibilizadas, utilizando como referência os valores de ZND estimados a partir dos dados GNSS coletados pelas estações da RBMC (Rede Brasileira de Monitoramento Contínuo), levando em consideração: a variação sazonal, a continentalidade e a variação da altitude e latitude.

GNSS (GNSS - Global Navigation Satellite System) positioning is the most by used technique to obtain a location over terrestrial surface or close to it. After the effects generated by the ionosphere, the refraction that the signal suffers, when it goes through the neutrosphere, can be considered as one of the largest error sources in the signal, in which is generated a neutrospheric delay, also called Zenithal Tropospheric Delay (ZTD). When the ZTD is not modeled, significant errors in the GNSS positioning are observed. Numerical Weather Prediction models are good alternatives to obtain ZTD over South America, because they are fed daily by atmospheric observations and consequently they are able to capture the temporal and spatial oscillations of the ZTD values. In Brazil, a system is operating at CPTEC/INPE for the purpose of generating such forecasts with spatial resolution of 15 km and temporal of 3 hours. In order to assess the impact of the recent improvements in the quality of ZTD predictions, a robust evaluation of the ZTD predictions was performed, taking into consideration several analyses in the Brazilian territory, in which ZTD values obtained from GPS data collected by the RBMC stations were used as reference, considering the evaluation: seasonal, the continentality, altitude and latitude variation.

Nos últimos anos, várias técnicas de posicionamento GPS (Global Positioning System) vêm sendo desenvolvidas e/ou aprimoradas com interesse de alcançar alta acurácia e produtividade em tempo real. O conceito de redes de estações de referência além de possibilitar aos usuários das comunidades civis e científicas qualidade e confiabilidade no posicionamento, permite estudos sobre a modelagem da refração troposférica na região da rede. Além disso, dentre as formas de transmissão das correções geradas pela rede ao usuário, destaca-se o conceito de VRS (Virtual Reference Station). Neste método, os dados de uma estação virtual são gerados nas proximidades do usuário, permitindo realizar posicionamento relativo em linhas de base curta com receptor de simples frequência. Neste artigo é descrita a metodologia para geração de dados da VRS com diferentes modelos troposféricos. Foram realizados testes comparativos nas quatro estações do ano com os modelos troposféricos de PNT/INPE (Previsão Numérica de Tempo/Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais) e Hopfield. Na análise de qualidade dos dados da VRS, o método PPP (Posicionamento por Ponto Preciso) proporcionou resultados satisfatórios. Foram observadas melhorias entre os modelos de PNT/INPE e Hopfield de 9,75% e 24,2% em média para dias secos e úmidos, respectivamente.

In the past few years several GPS (Global Position System) positioning techniques have been develope and/or improved with the goal of obtaining high accuracy and productivity in real time. The reference station network concept besides to enabling quality and reliability in positioning for scientific and civil GPS community, allows studies concerning tropospheric refraction modeling in the network region. Moreover, among the network corrections transmission methods available to users, there is the VRS (Virtual Reference Station) concept. In this method, the data of a virtual station are generated near the rover receiver (user). This provides a short baseline and the user has the possibility of using a single frequency receiver to accomplish the relative positioning. In this paper, the methodology applied to generate VRS data, using different tropospheric models is described. Thus, comparative tests were conducted in the four seasons with the NWP/INPE (Numerical Weather Prediction/National Institute for Space Research) and Hopfield tropospheric models. In order to analyse the VRS data quality, it was used the Precise Point Positioning (PPP) method, where satisfactory results were found. Mean differences between PNT/INPE and Hopfield models of 9.75% and 24.2% for the hydrostatic and wet days, respectively were obtained.

Dados de estações de referência são muito empregados no posicionamento GNSS (Gobal Navigation Satellite System). Os dados dessas estações podem ser utilizados no posicionamento relativo ou no conceito de posicionamento baseado em redes. Erros nos sinais coletados nessas estações irão influenciar diretamente a acurácia do posicionamento. Nesse artigo, o objetivo é avaliar a qualidade desses dados através de séries temporais dos índices MP1 e MP2 de multicaminho. Foi realizado um estudo estatístico de séries temporais com 7 anos de observações diárias de 7 estações da RBMC (Rede Brasileira de Monitoramento Contínuo). Foi empregada modelagem harmônica, correlogramas e periodogramas de Fourier para avaliar tendência e uma possível sazonalidade das séries. Também foi utilizado um ajuste harmônico para identificar possíveis picos que ocorrem sazonalmente nas séries temporais. Finalizando, foram apontadas as possíveis causas da sazonalidade encontrada na maior parte das estações, onde foi possível notar picos dos valores de MP nos meses de março e outubro (principalmente nas estações localizadas na região do equador geomagnético).

Data from reference stations are widely used in GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) positioning, and can be used in relative positioning or network-based positioning concept. Positioning accuracy will be directly influenced by errors in signals collected in these stations. In this paper, it is aimed at evaluating these data quality using temporal series of multipath index MP1 and MP2. A statistical study of temporal series with 7 years of daily observations related to 7 stations from RBMC (Rede Brasileira de Monitoramento Contínuo) was accomplished. In order to investigate trends and seasonality a linear regression model, correlograms, and Fourier periodograms were used. We also used a harmonic adjust to identify peaks on temporal series. At last, the possible causes of seasonality found in some stations were discussed. It was also possible to identify peaks in MP values of March and October months (mainly in stations located near geomagnetic equator).

Os avanços tecnológicos nos métodos de posicionamento têm possibilitado o desenvolvimento de metodologias que viabilizam a sua utilização pelo usuário numa diversidade de aplicações. Um dos métodos de posicionamento GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) de grande destaque é o RTK (Real Time Kinematic), cujo conceito tem como princípio básico a alta correlação dos erros provocados pela ionosfera, troposfera e órbita dos satélites na estação de referência e em uma estação próxima de interesse, além da existência de um link de rádio ou de outro sistema de comunicação que permita a transmissão dos dados coletados na base ao usuário. Porém quando as distâncias vão aumentando, a correlação é perdida. Esse fato motivou o desenvolvimento do conceito de rede de estações de referência (RTK em Rede), visando superar esta deficiência. O RTK em Rede utiliza a infra-estrutura de uma rede de estações de referência para disponibilizar correções ao usuário. Tanto o conceito de RTK como o de RTK em rede permitem introduzir o conceito de integridade, muito utilizado em navegação, no contexto da Geodésia. Nesse artigo é apresentada a teoria sobre integridade e sua utilização no RTK e RTK em rede no contexto da rede GNSS do Estado de São Paulo. Nos resultados obtidos observou-se que a garantia da integridade indicada por HPL < AL, VPL < AL e AC < AL, representados pelo nível de proteção horizontal (HPL) e nível de proteção vertical (VPL) em relação ao limite de alarme (AL) e a acurácia (AC), na média foram de 68,3% e 63,9% para a componente horizontal e vertical, respectivamente. Discussões sobre esses resultados são apresentadas.

Technological advances in positioning methods have enabled the development of methodologies that allow its use in a great variety of applications. One method of GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) positioning of high performance is the RTK (Real Time Kinematic) whose basic principle takes advantage of the high correlation of the errors caused by ionosphere, troposphere and satellite orbit in a reference station and a nearby station of interest, besides requiring a radio link or other communication system to transmit the data from the base to the user. But as the distances increase, the correlation decreases and the performance is reduced. To reduce this problem, the concept of network stations (RTK Network) was developed. Such approach uses the infrastructure of a network of reference stations to provide corrections to the network users. The RTK and RTK network allows introducing the concept of integrity, widely used in navigation, in the context of Geodesy. In this article, we present the concept of integrity and its use for evaluating the integrity on RTK and RTK network in the context of São Paulo State GNSS network. Results showed that to guarantee the integrity displayed by HPL <AL, VPL <AL and AC <AL, represented by horizontal protection level (HPL) and vertical protection level (VPL) in relation to the alarm limit (AL) and accuracy (AC) were on average 68.3% and 63.9% for the horizontal and vertical, component respectively.