VLBI TRF Combination Using GNSS Software

Abstract

Space geodetic techniques can be used to obtain precise shape and rotation information of the Earth. To achieve this, the representative combination solution of each space geodetic technique has to be produced, and then those solutions need to be combined. In this study, the representative combination solution of very long baseline interferometry (VLBI), which is one of the space geodetic techniques, was produced, and the variations in the position coordinate of each station during 7 years were analyzed. Products from five analysis centers of the International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry (IVS) were used as the input data, and Bernese 5.0, which is the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) data processing software, was used. The analysis of the coordinate time series for the 43 VLBI stations indicated that the latitude component error was about 15.6 mm, the longitude component error was about 37.7 mm, and the height component error was about 30.9 mm, with respect to the reference frame, International Terrestrial Reference Frame 2008 (ITRF2008). The velocity vector of the 42 stations excluding the YEBES station showed a magnitude difference of 7.3 mm/yr (30.2%) and a direction difference of (3.8%), with respect to ITRF2008. Among these, the 10 stations in Europe showed a magnitude difference of 7.8 mm/yr (30.3%) and a direction difference of (1.0%), while the 14 stations in North America showed a magnitude difference of 2.7 mm/yr (15.8%) and a direction difference of (2.9%).