Combination strategy for regional geocentric epoch reference frames

High-resolution regional applications require regional reference frames with dense networks of reference stations. These regional reference frames can be realised in the form of multi-year reference frames (that can be fixed to a specific tectonic plate like EUREF for Europe) or as epoch reference frames to represent non-linear phenomena such as earthquakes or loading effects (like SIRGAS for Latin America). Common to these realisations is that they are based on GNSS networks with a geodetic datum that is realised by alignment to the global reference frame (ITRF or IGS TRF).

In consequence, the origin of these networks reflects the Earth’s centre of figure rather than the Earth’s instantaneous centre of mass. Moreover, the quality of the realised datum decreases over time, as the linearly-parameterised coordinates of the global reference frame have to be extrapolated beyond the observation period. These effects mean a significantly reduced value of station-specific displacement time series for the study of, e.g., local geophysical effects.

This study presents an alternative approach for the realisation of a regional epoch reference frame for Latin America. The approach is based on the common weekly solution of global SLR, VLBI and GNSS networks combined at the normal equation level. Thereby, SLR determines the origin, SLR and VLBI jointly determine the scale, and a homogeneously distributed global GNSS network is used to realise the orientation. This GNSS network is densified by the stations of the regional sub-network, namely the stations of the Latin American SIRGAS network. The approach does not necessarily rely on fiducial points in the region of interest, which means that it is conceptually transferrable to other regional networks.

In order to cope with system-specific deficiencies of SLR and VLBI, namely data gaps, low station performances and frequently changing observational networks deteriorating the realised datum parameters, we propose a strategy to stabilise the realised datum via filtering the input data of these techniques at the normal equation level before combination with GNSS.

We evaluate the realised datum of the epoch-wise weekly solutions by comparison against the ITRF2014 as an independent multi-year realisation of the ITRS and against the JTRF2014 as an independent sub-secular realisation of the ITRS. Moreover, station-specific displacement time series are validated against non-tidal loading displacement time series derived from geophysical fluid models provided by ESMGFZ in order to demonstrate that the displacement time series reflect seasonal geophysical processes in a geocentric frame.