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New tide gauge uses GPS signals to measure sea level change
[May 22, 2014]

New tide gauge uses GPS signals to measure sea level change


(M2 PressWIRE Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) A new way of measuring sea level using satellite navigation system signals, for instance GPS, has been implemented by scientists at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden. Sea level and its variation can easily be monitored using existing coastal GPS stations, the scientists have shown.



Measuring sea level is an increasingly important part of climate research, and a rising mean sea level is one of the most tangible consequences of climate change. Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology have studied new ways of measuring sea level that could become important tools for testing climate models and for investigating how the sea level along the world's coasts is affected by climate change.

Johan Löfgren and Rüdiger Haas, scientists at Chalmers Department of Earth and Space Sciences, have developed and tested an instrument that measures the sea level using radio signals from satellite navigation systems: a GNSS tide gauge (GNSS stands for Global Navigation Satellite System).


"The global mean sea level is rising because of climate change, but the change depends on where you are in the world", says Rüdiger Haas. "We want to be able to make detailed measurements of sea level so that we can understand how coastal societies will be affected in the future." The GNSS tide gauge uses radio signals from satellites in orbit around the Earth that are part of satellite navigation systems like GPS and Glonass (Russia's equivalent of GPS).

"We measure the sea level using the same radio signals that mobile phones and cars use in their satellite navigation systems", says Johan Löfgren. "As the satellites pass over the sky, the instrument 'sees' their signals - both those that come direct and those that are reflected off the sea surface." Two antennas, covered by small white radomes, measure signals both directly from the satellites and signals reflected off the sea surface. By analyzing these signals together, the sea level and its variation can be measured, up to 20 times per second. The sea level time series is rich in physical phenomena such as tides (caused mostly by the gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun), meteorological signals (high and low pressure), and signals from climate change. Through advanced signal processing, these signals can be studied further.

The new GNSS tide gauge has the advantage that it can measure changes in both land and sea at the same time, in the same location. That means that both long-term and short-term land movements (post-glacial rebound and earthquakes) can be taken into consideration.

"Now we can measure the sea level both relative to the coast and relative to the centre of the Earth, which means we can clearly tell the difference between changes in the water level and changes in the land", says Johan Löfgren.

This summer the tide gauge station at Onsala Space Observatory will be complemented, in collaboration with SMHI, the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute. Other high-precision instruments will be installed to work together with the GNSS tide gauge.

"Our tide gauge station will become part of a network of stations along the coast of Sweden that will be able to monitor changes in the water level to millimetre precision well into the future", says Gunnar Elgered, professor at Chalmers Department of Earth and Space Sciences.

The scientists have also shown that existing coastal GNSS stations, installed primarily for the purpose of measuring land movements, can be used to make sea level measurements.

"We've successfully tested a method where only one of the antennas is used to receive the radio signals. That means that existing coastal GNSS stations - there are hundreds of them all over the world - can also be used to measure the sea level", says Johan Löfgren.

Caption: A panorama from the GNSS tide gauge at Onsala Space Observatory. When satellites pass over the sky, the GNSS tide gauge uses signals direct from the satellite and signals reflected off the sea surface to measure the sea level. Photo: Johan Löfgren More about satellite navigation systems There are several systems of satellites for navigation and positioning services, orbiting the Earth at 20 000 kilometres above the surface of the Earth. The satellites continuously broadcast radio signals which can be received by a mobile phone or a terminal in a car and used to calculate its position relative to the satellites. These systems of satellites are known collectively as GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems). The GNSS tide gauge at Onsala Space Observatory is currently using signals from the US-owned system GPS and its Russian counterpart Glonass. In the future, two newer systems will be added: Beidou and Galileo, developed by China and Europe, respectively.

More about the research The method is described in two new scientific articles: Sea level time series and ocean tide analysis from multipath signals at five GPS sites in different parts of the world and Sea level measurements using multi-frequency GPS and GLONASS observations More about Onsala Space Observatory Onsala Space Observatory is Sweden's national facility for radio astronomy. The observatory provides researchers with equipment for the study of the Earth and the rest of the universe. In Onsala, 45 km south of Gothenburg, it operates two radio telescopes and a station in the international telescope Lofar, and also equipment for GNSS, sea level measurements, gravimetry, seismology and atmospheric science. It also participates in several international projects. The observatory is hosted by the Department of Earth and Space Sciences at Chalmers University of Technology, and is operated on behalf of the Swedish Research Council.

Contacts: Robert Cumming, astronomer and communications officer, Onsala Space Observatory, Chalmers, +46 31-772 5500+46 31-772 5500, +46 70-493 31 14+46 70-493 31 14, [email protected] Johan Löfgren, Department of Earth and Space Sciences, Chalmers, +46 31-772 5500+46 31-772 5500 or +46 70-203 9039+46 70-203 9039, [email protected] Rüdiger Haas, professor of space geodesy, Department of Earth and Space Sciences, Chalmers, +46 31-772 5530+46 31-772 5530, [email protected] Chalmers University of Technology conducts research and offers education in technology, science, shipping and architecture with a sustainable future as its global vision. Chalmers is well-known for providing an effective environment for innovation and has eight priority areas of international significance - Built Environment, Energy, Information and Communication Technology, Life Science, Materials Science, Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Production, and Transportation.

Graphene Flagship, an FET Flagship initiative by the European Commission, is coordinated by Chalmers. Situated in Gothenburg, Sweden, Chalmers has 11,000 full-time students and 3,000 employees.CallSend SMSAdd to SkypeYou'll need Skype CreditFree via Skype .

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