GPS Reflections

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http://xenon.colorado.edu/reflections/GPS_reflections/Overview.html

Intro

Overview

Drought

PBO H2O

Pubs

Soil Moisture

Snow

Vegetation

GPS Reflections

Reflected GPS signals were first proposed as a remote

sensing tool by Martin-Neira in 1993. Most of the early
studies of GPS reflections were developed for aircraft
or space platforms. In those experiments, the
receiver/antenna systems were optimized to receive the
reflected signals.
Our research takes advantage of specular
reflections observed at geodetic GPS sites.
Such a GPS site is shown to the left. The
antenna is protected by an acrylic dome.
The antenna has been carefully designed so
that it can be drilled into bedrock (note the
drill-braced monument). The antennas phase
center is typically about two meters above
the ground. Because users want to measure
position, this GPS instrument is designed to
suppress reflected signals.

The primary observable of a GPS receiver is the distance between the satellite and the antenna.
However, depending on the surface, a GPS receiver also senses a reflected signal; the direct signal
is much stronger than the reflected signal. The beating of the direct and reflected signals turns a GPS
receiver into an interferometer.

GPS antenna

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http://xenon.colorado.edu/reflections/GPS_reflections/Overview.html

Changes
the observed
GPS
interference
patterns
allow
usdepends
to links:
measure
changes
pattern
for
an
antenna
2of the
ToInterference
firstinorder,
the
observed
frequency
interference
on the
height in
of tsurface soil
For
more
information
about
GPS
reflections,
please
try these
meters
above
the(h)
reflecting
above
the
reflector
and
thesurface.
GPSwater
transmit
frequency
(1.5 or 1.2changes
GHz). in frequency in the above
moisture,
snow
cover,
and
vegetation
content.
For examples,
Using
SNR
data
interference
patterns
are
used
to
retrieve
the
height
h
of
the
antenna
above
the reflecting surface. These
Publications
changes in h are directly related to snow depth. Changes in phase offset are used to retrieve soil
moisture. Changes in amplitude are related to vegetation growth, i.e. large amplitudes are observed at
bare soil sites, and amplitudes decrease during the vegetation growing cycle. We have focused our initial
research on taking advantage of existing commercially-available GPS receiver/antennas. This allows us to
take advantage of thousands of GPS sites operating around the world.

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http://xenon.colorado.edu/reflections/GPS_reflections/Overview.html

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