A comprehensive comparison of atmospheric mapping functions for GPS measurements in Egypt

Abstract

AbstractThe principal limiting error source in the Global Positioning System (GPS) is the mismodeling of the delay experienced by radio waves in propagating through the atmosphere. The atmosphere causing the delay in GPS signals consists of two main layers: the ionosphere and the troposphere. The ionospheric delay can be mitigated using dual frequency receivers, but the tropospheric delay is often corrected using a standard tropospheric model. The tropospheric delay can be described as a product of the delay at the zenith and a mapping function, which models the elevation dependence of the propagation delay. A large number of mapping functions have been developed for use in the analysis of space geodetic data. An assessment of most of these mapping functions including those developed by Niell (NMF), Herring (MTT), Davis (CfA-2.2), Ifadis, Chao, Black & Eisner (B & E), Yang & Ping, Moffett, Vienna (VMF), and Isobaric (IMF) have been performed. The behavior of these mapping functions was assessed by comparing their results with highly accurate Numerical Integration based Models (NIM) for three different stations in Egypt (Aswan, Helwan, and Mersa Matrouh) at different times throughout the year. The meteorological data used in this study was taken from the Egyptian Meteorological Authority (EMA) as average values between 1990 and 2005. It can be concluded that the Black & Eisner mapping function is recommended for dry tropospheric delay prediction for low zenith angles, whereas VMF will be the choice for elevation angles up to 10°.