Study of Coordinate Time Series Using IPTA Method Based on the GNSS Data

Abstract

The paper presents the application of the Innovative Polygon Trend Analysis (IPTA) method to study the time series of coordinates from the reference stations of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), using data sourced from the Nevada Geodetic Laboratory (NGL) between the years 2000 and 2024. The IPTA method can be applied for different time scales which may be daily, weekly, monthly, etc. periods. The purpose of this research is to investigate the existence of monthly seasonal correlation in the time series of coordinates of GNSS reference stations located in Europe. For this purpose, daily Precise Point Positioning (PPP) solutions of 247 GNSS permanent stations located in Central and West Europe were analysed. The research was conducted on time series based on the monthly average values of station coordinates. The analysis showed that a proportion of East, North, and Up components are affected by trends in general. As a result, the IPTA method might be adopted for 22% of the time series of East components, 9% of North components, and 45% of Up components. The study demonstrated that most GNSS stations in Europe exhibit seasonal correlation in the time series of coordinates, although the degree of this correlation varies depending on the component and location. These results highlight the potential of the IPTA method in the geospatial analysis of GNSS data and its utility in engineering applications.