Using OPUS for Measuring Vertical Displacements in Houston, Texas
Publication: Journal of Surveying Engineering
Volume 139, Issue 3
Abstract
The Houston area has been suffering from subsidence for several decades. Therefore, continuously operating reference stations (CORS) in this area may have experienced considerable vertical displacements. The Online Positioning User Service (OPUS), provided by the National Geodetic Survey (NGS), uses CORS as references in its data processing. This study investigated what effects, if any, the subsidence experienced by these CORS around Houston contributes to the accuracy of OPUS vertical results. Our OPUS results were determined from three long-term (over 10-year) blocks of continuous data using Global Positioning System (GPS) stations located in different parts of the Houston area. The OPUS results were compared with the vertical measurements from the precise point positioning with single receiver phase ambiguity (PPP-SRPA) solution implicit in the GIPSY/OASIS 6.1.2 software. This particular study indicates that OPUS achieves 1.0-cm vertical accuracy for daily sessions (24 h) in the region around Houston, which is comparable to the OPUS accuracy previously reported in other investigations. Subsidence as slow as can be detected by analyzing OPUS results spanning 5 or more years of data. Our main conclusion is that the subsidence experienced by NGS CORS in the Houston area does not considerably affect the accuracy of OPUS vertical results. For those users who require a few centimeters of vertical accuracy for daily sessions, OPUS is a good choice, because users do not need to establish any control stations and do not need to install any GPS software packages on their local computers.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank the NGS CORS and OPUS teams for allowing us to process a large number of files. We thank the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District for making their long-term GPS data available to the public and USGS for making Houston extensometer data available to the public. The first author appreciates many thoughtful comments from Mr. Cliff Middleton, one of the NGS State Geodetic Advisors in Texas. This study was supported by a NSF CAREER award (EAR-0842314).
References
Bertiger, W., Desai, S. D., Haines, B., Harvey, N., Moore, A W., Owen, S., and Weiss, J. P. (2010). “Single receiver phase ambiguity resolution with GPS data.” J. Geod., 84(5), 327–337.
Buckley, S. M., Rosen, P. A., Hensley, S., and Tapley, B. D. (2003). “Land subsidence in Houston, Texas, measured by radar interferometry and constrained by extensometers.” J. Geophys. Res. B: Solid Earth, 108(11), 2542.
DeMets, C., Gordon, R., Argus, D., and Stein, S. (1990). “Current plate motions.” Geophys. J. Int., 101(2), 425–478.
DeMets, C., Gordon, R., Argus, D., and Stein, S. (1994). “Effect of recent revisions to the geomagnetic reversal time scale on estimates of current plate motions.” Geophys. Res. Lett., 21(20), 2191–2194.
Eckl, M. C., Snay, R. A., Soler, T., Cline, M. W., and Mader, G. L. (2001). “Accuracy of GPS-derived relative positions as a function of interstation distance and observing-session duration.” J. Geod., 75(12), 633–640.
Engelkemeir, R., Khan, S., and Burke, K. (2010). “Surface deformation in Houston, Texas using GPS.” Tectonophysics, 490(1–2), 47–54.
Gabrysch, R. K. (1984). “Ground-water withdrawals and landsurface subsidence in the Houston Galveston region, Texas, 1906-80.” Rep. 287, Texas Department of Water Resources, Austin, TX.
Ghoddousi-Fard, R., and Dare, P. (2006). “Online GPS processing services: An initial study.” GPS Solut., 10(1), 12–20.
GIPSY/OASIS 6.1.2 [Computer software]. Pasadena, CA, NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Jin, S., and Zhu, W. (2004). “A revision of the parameters of the NNR-NUVEL-1A plate velocity model.” J. Geodyn., 38(1), 85–92.
Kasmarek, M. C., Gabrysch, R. K., and Johnson, M. R. (2009a). Estimated land-surface subsidence in Harris County, Texas, 1915–17 to 2001. USGS Sci. Invest. Map, 3097.
Kasmarek, M. C., Houston, N. A., and Ramage, J. K. (2009b). Water-level altitudes 2009 and water-level changes in the Chicot, Evangeline, and Jasper aquifers and compaction 1973–2008 in the Chicot and Evangeline aquifers, Houston-Galveston region. USGS Sci. Invest. Map, 3081.
Leandro, R. F., Santos, M. C., and Langley, R. B. (2007). “GAPS: The GPS analysis and positioning software—A brief overview.” ION GNSS 20th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division, Fort Worth, TX, 1807–1811.
Martín, A., Anquela, A. B., Capilla, R., and Berné, J. L. (2011). “PPP technique analysis based on time convergence, repeatability, IGS products, different software processing, and GPS+GLONASS constellation.” J. Surv. Eng., 137(3), 99–108.
National Geodetic Survey. (2012). “CORS repeatability plots.” 〈http://geodesy.noaa.gov/CORS/coord_info/plots.shtml〉 (May 17, 2013).
Pearson, C., McCaffrey, R., Elliot, J. L., and Snay, R. (2010). “HDTP 3.0: Software for copying with the coordinate changes associated with crustal motion.” J. Surv. Eng., 136(2), 80–90.
Pearson, P., and Snay, R. (2013). “Introducing HTDP 3.1 to transform coordinates across time and spatial reference frames.” GPS Solut., 17(1), 1–17.
Píriz, R., Mozo, A., Navarro, P., and Rodríguez, D. (2008). “MagicGNSS: Precise GNSS products out of the box.” Proc., ION GNSS 21st Int. Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of the Institute of Navigation, Institute of Navigation, Manassas, VA, 1242–1251.
Schenewerk, M., and Hilla, S. (1999). “PAGES: Program for adjustment of GPS ephemerides.” 〈http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/GRD/GPS/DOC/pages/pages.html〉 (May 17, 2013).
Schwarz, C. R. (2006). “Statistics of range of a set of normally distributed numbers.” J. Surv. Eng., 132(4), 155–159.
Sella, G., Cline, M., and Haw, D. (2011). “Criteria for establishing and operating a continuously operating reference station (CORS).” CORS and OPUS for engineers, T. Soler, ed., ASCE, Reston, VA, 11–16.
Snay, R. A. (1999). “Using HTDP software to transform spatial coordinates across time and between reference frames.” Surv. Land Inf. Syst, 59(1), 15–25.
Snay, R. A., and Soler, T. (2008). “Continuously operating reference station (CORS): History, applications, and future enhancements.” J. Surv. Eng., 134(4), 95–104.
Soler, T., ed. (2011). CORS and OPUS for engineers: Tools for surveying and mapping applications, ASCE, Reston, VA.
Soler, T., Michalak, P., Weston, N. D., Snay, R. A., and Foote, R. H. (2006). “Accuracy of OPUS solution for 1- to 4-h observing sessions.” GPS Solut., 10(1), 45–55.
Stone, W. (2006). “The evolution of the National Geodetic Survey’s continuously operating reference station network and online positioning user service.” Proc., 2006 ION-IEEE Position, Location, and Navigation Symp., IEEE, Piscataway, NJ, 653–663.
Stork, S. V., and Sneed, M. (2002). “Houston-Galveston Bay Area, Texas from space—A new tool for mapping land subsidence.” USGS Fact Sheet 110-02, USGS, Houston, TX.
Tsakiri, M. (2008). “GPS processing using online services.” J. Surv. Eng., 134(4), 115–125.
Wang, G. (2013). “Millimeter-accuracy GPS landslide monitoring using precise point positioning with single receiver phase ambiguity resolution: A case study in Puerto Rico.” J. Geodetic Sci., 3(1), 22–31.
Wang, G., and Soler, T. (2012). “OPUS for horizontal subcentimeter-accuracy landslide monitoring: A case study in the Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands region.” J. Surv. Eng., 138(3), 143–153.
Weston, N. D., Soler, T., and Mader, G. L. (2007). “Web-based solution for GPS data, NOAA OPUS.” GIM Int., 21(4), 23–25.
Zang, S. X., Chen, Q. Y., Ning, J. Y., Shen, Z. K., and Liu, Y. G. (2002). “Motion of the Philippine Sea plate consistent with NUVEL-1A model.” Geophys. J. Int., 150(3), 809–819.
Zilkoski, D. B., Hall, L. W., Mitchell, G. J., Kammula, V., Singh, A., Chrismer, W. M., and Neighbors, R. J. (2003). “The Harris Galveston coastal subsidence district/national geodetic survey automated global positioning system subsidence monitoring project,” U.S. Geological Survey Subsidence Interest Group Conference, Proc., of the Technical Meeting, Galveston, TX.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Surveying Engineering
Volume 139 • Issue 3 • August 2013
Pages: 126 - 134
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 27, 2012
Accepted: Jan 29, 2013
Published online: Jan 31, 2013
Published in print: Aug 1, 2013
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.