Analysis of 3D positions processed from CORS in southern Ghana

Abstract

Differential mode of processing GNSS in the preferred choice for high precision assignments in areas where there are active reference stations. Studies into the performance of these continuously operating reference stations (CORS) have mainly been centered on either session times or baseline lengths. Active CORS have emerged replacing the old passive stations. However, these innovations in the science of spatial data acquisition needs to be monitored for networks strength and sensitivity. In this study, GPS data from five CORS stations for 12 days were used and processed with RTKLib. The research was restricted to baseline lengths of 2.5 to 13.5 km with varying session lengths starting from 1 hour to 24 hours. 3D error for each baseline and 3D RMS for each group of baselines were subsequently computed. A plot of the results was analyzed and compared. This comparison reveals that Geodetic accuracy (below 1cm) is achieved after 4 hours of observation session showing that the precision of Rtklib baseline solution can reach sub-centimeter level and therefore can yield reliable results in almost any professional project.