Present-Day Land and Sea Level Changes around South Georgia Island: Results from Precise Levelling, GNSS, Tide Gauge and Satellite Altimetry Measurements

Scientific Conference (2019, July 25)

South Georgia Island, the main land outcrop on the South Georgia microcontinent (SGM), is located approximately 1,400 km east of the Falkland Islands and approximately 1,400 km northeast of the ... [more ▼]

South Georgia Island, the main land outcrop on the South Georgia microcontinent (SGM), is located approximately 1,400 km east of the Falkland Islands and approximately 1,400 km northeast of the northernmost tip of the Antarctic peninsular. The SGM is believed to lie south of the North Scotia Ridge (NSR), which forms the boundary to the South America Plate, while to the south it is bordered by the Scotia Plate (SP). In its sub-Antarctic location, the island is largely covered by mountain glaciers which have been reported to be retreating due to climatic change. Furthermore, during past glaciation periods the island and its shelf area, stretching much of the SGM, have been ice covered as was revealed by scarring of the sub-oceanic topography. Together with ongoing tectonics along the NSR and recent seismicity at the SP boundary, these processes have the ability to produce significant uplift on local to regional scales. With its mid-ocean location in the Southern Atlantic Ocean South Georgia Island is in a key position for the oceanic and geodetic global monitoring networks. As these net-works suffer from a Hemisphere imbalance with the number of stations in the Northern Hemisphere outnumbering those in the Southern Hemisphere, operating these stations to the highest standards is of key scientific value. It is of particular interest to monitor the tide gauge (GLOSS ID 187) at King Edward Point (KEP) for vertical land movements to establish a continuous record of its datum within the Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level (PSMSL), which in turn makes it useful for long-term sea level studies and satellite altimetry calibrations. With the establishment of five GNSS stations on the islands by teams from Luxembourg, the UK and the USA during 2013 to 2015, and the scientific analysis of these data within a global network of stations, it has now become possible to study present-day vertical land movements and their impacts. Furthermore, together with four precise levelling campaigns of the KEP benchmark network in 2013, 2014 and two in 2017, it has also been possible to investigate the very local character of the vertical motions near KEP, i.e. the stability of the jetty upon which the tide gauge is mounted. In this study, we will present the still preliminary results from the GNSS and levelling measurements and will discuss their impact on the sea level record from the KEP tide gauge. Our measurements show that while South Georgia Island and the area around KEP are rising, the jetty and tide gauge are subsiding, leading to a lower magnitude of the observed sea level change than expected from satellite altimetry. In order to improve the agreement between these measurements both local and regional vertical land movements need to be monitored. [less ▲]

Towards a high-resolution drone-based 3D mapping dataset to optimise flood hazard modelling

in International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences (2019, June), XLII-2/W13

The occurrence of urban flooding following strong rainfall events may increase as a result of climate change. Urban expansion, ageing infrastructure and an increasing number of impervious surfaces are ... [more ▼]

The occurrence of urban flooding following strong rainfall events may increase as a result of climate change. Urban expansion, ageing infrastructure and an increasing number of impervious surfaces are further exacerbating flooding. To increase resilience and support flood mitigation, bespoke accurate flood modelling and reliable prediction is required. However, flooding in urban areas is most challenging. State-of-the-art flood inundation modelling is still often based on relatively low-resolution 2.5 D bare earth models with 2-5m GSD. Current systems suffer from a lack of precise input data and numerical instabilities and lack of other important data, such as drainage networks. Especially, the quality and resolution of the topographic input data represents a major source of uncertainty in urban flood modelling. A benchmark study is needed that defines the accuracy requirements for highly detailed urban flood modelling and to improve our understanding of important threshold processes and limitations of current methods and 3D mapping data alike. This paper presents the first steps in establishing a new, innovative multiscale data set suitable to benchmark urban flood modelling. The final data set will consist of high-resolution 3D mapping data acquired from different airborne platforms, focusing on the use of drones (optical and LiDAR). The case study includes residential as well as rural areas in Dudelange/Luxembourg, which have been prone to localized flash flooding following strong rainfall events in recent years. The project also represents a cross-disciplinary collaboration between the geospatial and flood modelling community. In this paper, we introduce the first steps to build up a new benchmark data set together with some initial flood modelling results. More detailed investigations will follow in the next phases of this project. [less ▲]

Improved Monitoringand Tracking Hurricanes using GPS Atmospheric WaterVapour

Poster (2019, April 09)

Curvature based DAD-method for damage localisation under consideration of measurement noise minimisation

in Engineering Structures (2019), 181

Several research projects on condition assessment of bridges have proven that structural responses from dynamic excitation or static loading are influenced by local damages and thus, could be used for the ... [more ▼]

Several research projects on condition assessment of bridges have proven that structural responses from dynamic excitation or static loading are influenced by local damages and thus, could be used for the detection and localisation of damages. Particularly, the curvature of structures is directly depending on their stiffness. In order to localise the discontinuities in curvature lines resulting from damage, this paper uses the so-called Deformation Area Difference Method (DAD), which is based on static load deflection tests on bridge structures. The DAD-method for damage localisation is presented within the paper using a theoretical example, which is then verified by two laboratory experiments. The first experiment consists of a reinforced concrete beam, which is loaded stepwise until failure of the concrete in the compression zone. Due to the load increase, the tensile zone of the beam starts cracking, leading to a stiffness reduction. The application of the DAD-method allows identifying the cracked area from the measurement of the deflection line. However, a challenge and a prerequisite for the applicability of the DAD-method is the highly accurate measurement of the deflection line. Therefore, one of the most modern measurement techniques such as digital photogrammetry is applied. Nonetheless, the accuracy of each measurement technique is limited. The second laboratory experiment consists of a steel beam, which is locally damaged at three positions. The degree of the damage is stepwise increased in order to identify at which degree of damage the applied DAD-method is still able to identify and localise damage. In this work, the focus lies on the minimisation of the effect of noise resulting from the limited measurement precision. Possible solutions were examined and proposed based on methods such as data smoothing using polynomial regression, consideration of standard deviation and measurement point variation. The reduction of the noise effect leads to an increase in the sensitivity of the damage localisation. The DAD-method has proven its potential for practical application through the successful localisation of cracking in the concrete beam. [less ▲]

Impact of GPS Antenna Phase Center Models on Zenith Wet Delay and Tropospheric Gradients

in GPS Solutions (2019), 23(5),

We demonstrate the potential for the Global Positioning System (GPS) to provide highly accurate tropospheric products for use in meteorological applications. Tropospheric products, in particular the wet ... [more ▼]

We demonstrate the potential for the Global Positioning System (GPS) to provide highly accurate tropospheric products for use in meteorological applications. Tropospheric products, in particular the wet delays, are treated as an unknown parameter in GPS processing and are estimated with other parameters such as station coordinates. In this study, we investigate the effects of Phase Center Correction (PCC) models on tropospheric zenith wet delay (ZWD), integrated water vapor (IWV) and gradient products. Two solutions were generated using the GAMIT software over the EUREF Permanent GNSS Network (EPN). The first (reference) solution was derived by applying the International GNSS Service (IGS) type-mean PCC model, while for the second solution PCC models from individual calibrations were used. The solutions were generated identically, except for the PCC model differences. The two solutions were compared, with the assumption that common signals are differenced out. The comparison of the two solutions clearly shows a bias in all tropospheric products, which can be attributed to PCC model deficiencies. Overall, mean biases of ±1.8, ±0.3, ±0.14 and ±0.19 mm are evident in ZWD, IWV, North-South and East-West gradients, respectively. Moreover, the differences between the two solutions show seasonal variations. For all antenna types, the ZWD and IWV differences are dominated by white plus power-law noise, with latter characterizing the low-frequency spectrum. On the other hand, the horizontal gradients exhibit a white plus first order autoregressive noise characteristic with less than 1% white noise. The individual PCC model provides a better fit to an external independent model in terms of gradient estimate and also provides up to 3 % more carrier phase ambiguity resolution. [less ▲]

Static load deflection experiment on a beam for damage detection using the Deformation Area Difference Method

Scientific Conference (2018, October)

A reliable and safety infrastructure for both transport and traffic is becoming increasingly important today. The condition assessment of bridges remains difficult and new methods must be found to provide ... [more ▼]

A reliable and safety infrastructure for both transport and traffic is becoming increasingly important today. The condition assessment of bridges remains difficult and new methods must be found to provide reliable information. A meaningful in-situ assessment of bridges requires very detailed investigations which cannot be guaranteed by commonly used methods. It is known that the structural response to external loading is influenced by local damages. However, the detection of local damage depends on many factors such as environmental effects (e.g. temperature), construction layer (e.g. asphalt) and accuracy of the structural response measurement. Within the paper, a new so-called Deformation Area Difference (DAD) Method is presented. The DAD method is based on a load deflection experiment and does not require a reference measurement of initial condition. Therefore, the DAD method can be applied on existing bridges. Moreover, the DAD method uses the most modern technologies such as high precision measurement techniques and attempts to combine digital photogrammetry with drone applications. The DAD method uses information given in the curvature course from a theoretical model of the structure and compares it to real measurements. The paper shows results from a laboratory load-deflection experiment with a steel beam which has been gradually damaged at distinct positions. The load size is chosen so that the maximum deflection does not exceed the serviceability limit state. With the data obtained by the laboratory experiment, the damage degree, which can still be detected by the DAD method, is described. Furthermore, the influence of measurement accuracy on damage detection is discussed. [less ▲]

Effect of unmodelled tidal displacements in GPS and GLONASS coordinate time series

in Geophysical Journal International (2018), 214(3), 2195-2206

This study demonstrates the different effects of unmodelled (sub-)daily tidal displacement in Global Positioning System (GPS) and GLObalnaya NAvigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema (GLONASS) coordinate time ... [more ▼]

This study demonstrates the different effects of unmodelled (sub-)daily tidal displacement in Global Positioning System (GPS) and GLObalnaya NAvigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema (GLONASS) coordinate time-series. The results show that more than two propagated periodic signals appear in GPS and GLONASS Precise Point Positioning (PPP) coordinate time-series in the presence of an unmodelled M2 /O1 tidal displacements as a result of a non-overlapping 24-hr data sampling. To summarize the propagated periodic signals at the fortnightly period, an unmodelled M2 tidal displacement propagates predominately into two long-period signals at 13.6x (x is a positive integer) and 14.76 d for GPS, while only one significant propagated periodic signal at 14.76 d is discernible for GLONASS. Similarly, significant propagated periodic signals at 13.6x and 14.19 d for GPS and only at 14.19 d for GLONASS are evident as a result of an unmodelled O1 tidal displacement. However, an unmodelled M f (long- period) signal results in a strong power of similar magnitude at 13.6x d (∼13.66 d) for both GPS and GLONASS solutions. The appearance of different periodic signals as a result of the same unmodelled tidal displacement is attributed to the different ground repeat periods of the constellations. The latter is likely to explain the reason why the 13.6x-d fortnightly signal is present only in GPS solutions. Comparing the powers of the M2 propagated periodic signals at 13.6x and 14.76 d on average from 32 globally distributed stations, the amplitude of the former is larger than for the latter by an order of magnitude. The results of this study demonstrate that the 13.6x-d periodic signal in GPS/GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) derived products is a joint contribution of the propagation of unmodelled (sub-)daily tidal displacements and errors at longer periods with the former appearing to contribute more. Significant reduction of the propagated periodic signals is achieved from combined-system solutions where including Galileo (the European GNSS) to the combined solution already shows benefits by reducing the effect even before the system has reached its full constellation. Combined GNSS solutions will benefit the applications of GNSS time-series for retrieving tidal harmonic signals such as Mf as they reduce constellation specific propagation effects. [less ▲]

Vertical Land Movements and Sea Level Changes around South Georgia Island

Poster (2018, April 09)

South Georgia Island in the Southern Atlantic Ocean is a key location for the seismic, geomagnetic and oceanic global monitoring networks. In its sub-Antarctic location, the island is largely covered by ... [more ▼]

South Georgia Island in the Southern Atlantic Ocean is a key location for the seismic, geomagnetic and oceanic global monitoring networks. In its sub-Antarctic location, the island is largely covered by mountain glaciers which have been reported to be retreating due to climatic change. Furthermore, during past glaciation periods the island and its shelf area have been ice covered as was revealed by scarring of the sub-oceanic topography. Together with ongoing tectonics along the North Scotia Ridge, these processes have the ability to produce significant uplift on local to regional scales, affecting the measurements of the tide gauge (GLOSS ID 187) at King Edward Point (KEP). Furthermore, with its mid-ocean location, the tide gauge is of particular interest to satellite altimetry calibrations over the Southern Atlantic and Southern Oceans. With the establishment of five GNSS stations on the islands during 2013 to 2015 and the scientific analysis of these data within the global network of stations of the International GNSS Service Tide Gauge Benchmark Monitoring (TIGA) working group, it has now become possible to study present-day vertical land movements of the region and their impacts on, for example, regional sea level. Furthermore, together with four precise levelling campaigns of the KEP benchmark network in 2013, 2014 and two in 2017, it has also been possible to investigate the very local character of the vertical motions near KEP, ie. the stability of the jetty upon which the tide gauge is mounted. In this study, we will present the still preliminary results from the GNSS and levelling measurements and will discuss their impact on the sea level record from the KEP tide gauge. Our measurements show that while South Georgia Island and the area around KEP are rising, the jetty and tide gauge are subsiding, leading to a disagreement in the observed sea level change from the tide gauge and satellite altimetry. In order to improve the agreement between these sea level measurements both local and regional vertical land movements need to be monitored. [less ▲]

The Deformation Area Difference (DAD) method for condition assessment of reinforced structures

in Engineering Structures (2018), 155

The investigation and condition assessment of bridges have a very high priority in the construction industry today. Particularly, due to the fact that many bridge structures are getting old and partly ... [more ▼]

The investigation and condition assessment of bridges have a very high priority in the construction industry today. Particularly, due to the fact that many bridge structures are getting old and partly reach the end of their useful life, the control and condition assessment of bridge structures have become very important and essential. The present research work introduces an efficient new method for condition assessment called the Deformation Area Difference (DAD) Method. This new method represents an attractive alternative to visual inspection and long-term monitoring. In this paper, the new method with its theoretical background is presented and explained by means of a laboratory experiment and some additional theoretical calculation examples. The experimental investigations have been realised on a reinforced concrete beam, which has been gradually loaded until failure. For each load step, the stiffness reduction and the apparent cracking have been monitored. High-precision measurements such as close-range photogrammetry, digital levelling and displacement sensors have been used for the determination of the deflection curve. The DAD method has been applied to identify the area of the crack pattern of the laboratory experiment. Furthermore, the method is discussed with regard to the load level and the precision of the deformation measurements. On the basis of the laboratory experiment, the applicability of the DAD method for damage detection could be proven. Furthermore, the sensitivity of the method with regard to the damage degree, the static system, the damage position and the impact of temperature variation were analysed. [less ▲]

First Vertical Land Movement Estimates on South Georgia Island: An Impact Study on Sea Level Change from Tide Gauge and Altimetry Measurements

Poster (2017, December 11)

South Georgia Island in the Southern Atlantic Ocean has been a key location for the seismic, geomagnetic and oceanic global monitoring networks. However, no permanent geodetic monitoring station had been ... [more ▼]

South Georgia Island in the Southern Atlantic Ocean has been a key location for the seismic, geomagnetic and oceanic global monitoring networks. However, no permanent geodetic monitoring station had been established there despite the lack of observations from this region within, for example, the International GNSS Service (IGS) network of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) stations. Then, in 2013 the King Edward Point (KEP) Geodetic Observatory was established with a focus on sea level studies and in support of general geoscience applications. Currently, this observatory located roughly half-way along the main island and along its northern coastline, consists of two GNSS stations (KEPA and KRSA) with local benchmark networks, allowing the height determinations from the GNSS antennas to be transferred to the KEP tide gauge (GLOSS ID 187) and forming a height reference within the International Terrestrial Reference Frame. In late 2014, three additional GNSS stations (SG01, SG02 and SG03) were established, all on small islands at the perimeter of the main island. Together the stations provide the best possible opportunity to study various geophysical processes in the region. With the GNSS-derived position time series partly reaching over 4.5 years in length, it has become possible to provide first estimates of vertical land movements for the island and KEP with its surrounding area. Together with four precise levelling campaigns of the benchmark network in 2013, 2014 and two in 2017, it has also been possible to investigate the very local character of the vertical motions, ie. the stability of the jetty upon which the tide gauge is mounted. Our measurements show that while South Georgia Island and the area around KEP are rising, the jetty and tide gauge are subsiding. In this study, we will present the preliminary results from the GNSS and levelling measurements and will discuss their impact on the sea level record from the KEP tide gauge which is ideally situated in a mid-ocean location for satellite altimetry calibration over the Southern Atlantic and Southern Oceans. [less ▲]