Dynamic GPS precise point positioning for deformation monitoring using prior information

Abstract

The single epoch deformation monitoring method based on the relative positioning principle was analyzed and its limitations were investigated. This paper presents an intensive study on the deformation features of monitoring objects using a deformation transformation matrix from the rectangular space to topocentric Cartesian coordinates and proposes a dynamic PPP deformation estimation method that includes prior information regarding the deformation features of the monitoring objects. The method was applied to a case study using high-rate data from four international GNSS service (IGS) sites located in a magnitude-9.0 earthquake zone in Japan. The results showed an effective improvement on the precision and convergence of the deformation solution and were in agreement with current results, proving that our method is effective and reliable.