Diāna Haritonova

Development of the One Centimeter Accuracy Geoid Model of Latvia for GNSS Measurements

There is an urgent necessity for a highly accurate and reliable geoid model to enable prompt determination of normal height with the use of GNSS coordinate determination due to the high precision requirements in geodesy, building and high precision road construction development. Additionally, the Latvian height system is in the process of transition from BAS- 77 (Baltic Height System) to EVRS2007 system. The accuracy of the geoid model must approach the precision of about ~1 cm looking forward to the Baltic Rail and other big projects. The use of all the available and verified data sources is planned, including the use of enlarged set of GNSS/levelling data, gravimetric measurement data and, additionally, the vertical deflection measurements over the territory of Latvia. The work is going ahead stepwise. Just the issue of GNSS reference network stability is discussed. In order to achieve the ~1 cm precision geoid, it is required to have a homogeneous high precision GNSS network as a basis for ellipsoidal height determination for GNSS/levelling points. Both the LatPos and EUPOS® - Riga network have been examined in this article.

Earth's Surface Displacements from the GPS Time Series

The GPS observations of both Latvian permanent GNSS networks - EUPOS®-Riga and LatPos, have been collected for a period of 8 years - from 2007 to 2014. Local surface displacements have been derived from the obtained coordinate time series eliminating different impact sources. The Bernese software is used for data processing. The EUREF Permanent Network (EPN) stations in the surroundings of Latvia are selected as fiducial stations. The results have shown a positive tendency of vertical displacements in the western part of Latvia - station heights are increasing, and negative velocities are observed in the central and eastern parts. Station vertical velocities are ranging in diapason of 4 mm/year. In the case of horizontal displacements, site velocities are up to 1 mm/year and mostly oriented to the south. The comparison of the obtained results with data from the deformation model NKG_RF03vel has been made. Additionally, the purpose of this study is to analyse GPS time series obtained using two different data processing strategies: Precise Point Positioning (PPP) and estimation of station coordinates relatively to the positions of fiducial stations also known as Differential GNSS.

Parameters for automated star identification

The determination of parameters for identifying stars sensed by charge-coupled device (CCD) is discussed. Numerical experiments are summarized which support the parameter space bound estimation practicality of the proposed star pattern recognition and identification by matching with coordinate list in star catalogue. The parameter analysis performed to apply them for proper identification algorithm which is developed and used at the Institute of Geodesy and Geoinformatics. This algorithm is applied for identification of large volume star sets.

Field tests of astrometric subsystem

AbstractThe paper presents results of astrometric subsystem’s functionality tests for space object laser ranging and astrometric position determination device, which is under construction in the Institute of Geodesy and Geoinformatics (GGI) of the University of Latvia. Properties of hardware performance for astrometric image acquisition were evaluated and optimal parameters have been selected. Software for image processing and calculation of instrument orientation was tested and adjustments have been made for real-time operation support. Object tracking properties were evaluated, and mount error model parameters were calculated, using test measurements.

Sea level variations at the Latvian coastal hydrologic stations

AbstractThe objective of this paper is to analyse water level variations of the Baltic Sea on the Latvian coast. This is important because the Baltic Sea exhibits a number of remarkable phenomena. One of them is the sea level variations due to winds, complicated by the shape of the gulfs and islands. Under this influence the range of the sea level variations can reach 3 m on the coasts of gulfs. However, the tidal variations of the Baltic Sea range in the order of centimetres only. In the frame of this study, using hourly time series of the sea level records from 7 Latvian coastal hydrologic stations and employing spectral analysis, it has become feasible to identify diurnal and semi-diurnal tide existence both in the Gulf of Riga and in the Baltic Sea at the Latvian coast. Totally 4 main tidal constituents (O1, K1, M2, S2) have been identified. Additionally, non-tidal frequency of 5 cycles per day has been detected in the sea level time series of the stations located in the Gulf of Riga.