Search

Abstract The delay-Doppler map (DDM) is the signal power distribution of the Coarse/Acquisition code (C/A code) of the received Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signal in different code phase delay and Doppler frequency. When the received signal is reflected from ocean surface, the DDM can be used to retrieve the ocean surface wind speed, which is the GNSS-reflectometry (GNSS-R) technique. Due to the signal power distribution in DDM is the correlation results of received and artificial C/A code from receiver in different code phase delay and Doppler frequency, the Woodward ambiguity function (WAF) occurs in the DDM. In the case of DDM, the WAF is the correlation results of two square waves in different code phase delay and Doppler frequency, and is approximated a triangular function and a sinc function in code phase delay and Doppler frequency axes, respectively. It means the correlation results not only show the code phase delay and Doppler frequency of the received signal but also influence the surrounding code phase delay and Doppler frequency values and cause the structure of DDM more complex. Using more bins in DDM in the wind speed retrieval process can reduce the influence of WAF but cause the spatial resolution to worsen. In order to use as less bins as possible in the retrieval process and not reduce the retrieval efficiency too much, a simple method to estimate bistatic radar cross section (BRCS) from DDM is developed in this study. Furthermore, a retrieval process is also developed for ocean surface wind speed retrieving by using less bins in the DDM from Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) mission.

Abstract We assess the orbit accuracy and time synchronization error using the L1 and C1 observables during the different solar activities. In general, GPS single-frequency (SF) observable can be used for commercial applications in satellite industry. The accuracy of satellite orbit determination using the SF observations is dominated by solar activities. The solar activities are indexed by the F10.7 value. The different solar activities lead to the ionosphere perturbation, triggering off the occurrence probability of ionospheric irregularities. The ionospheric irregularity affects the amplitude and phase of GPS signal. The affected amplitude and phase are indexed by the S4 value. We determine the GRACE satellite orbit using the SF GPS observations and compare the resulting orbit to that derived by dual-frequency observations for the effectiveness. The SF phase data are very sensitive to the variation in electron density and indirectly affects both the orbit accuracy and the time synchronization error. This is most likely caused by the phase ambiguity disturbed by the ionosphere. However, the C1 is relatively free from such a disturbance due to the strong signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and the phase shift keying technique. The C1 performs the consistent solution over the low and high solar activities. However, this is not the case for the L1. The L1-derived orbit solution during the high solar activities is worse than that during the low solar activities. On the other hand, the time synchronization errors derived by the L1 and C1 are also different. The L1-derived time synchronization error has a relatively large perturbation as compared to the C1-derived one, which shows a consistent solution for a long-term period. This work suggests that the C1 observable is able to produce a consistent the orbit solution and time synchronization for the commercial applications of the satellite industry. Graphical Abstract

Key points (1) Electron density profiles data service of FORMOSAT-7/COSMIC-2. (2) Absolute TEC data service of FORMOSAT-7/COSMIC-2. (3) Validation results confirms the data is ready to use.

Key Points 1. We improve the new beacon receiver to receive six RF channels successfully. 2. The first beacon observation data for FORMOSAT-7/COSMIC-2 at Taiwan. 3. The project method could be used to estimate the height of scintillation event.