Professional Documents
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Journal of Applied
Ecology 2001
38, 869 878
INNOVATIONS
Oxford,
Journal
JAPPL
British
320021-8901
38
GPS
624
I.A.R.
001
Blackwell
forHulbert
Ecological
of
UK
telemetry
Applied
Science,
& J.Society,
and
Ecology
French
Ltdmapping
2001
Summary
1. Decision support tools used for vegetation management require accurate information on the spatial array of different plant communities and a herbivores grazing
location. We tested the accuracy and precision of locations derived using the satellite
navigation global positioning system (GPS).
2. Before May 2000, the accuracy and precision of GPS-derived locations were degraded
by a process known as selective availability (SA); after May 2000, SA was disabled. In
this study we investigated how to handle and improve the quality of data generated both
when SA was enabled and when SA was disabled using relative GPS (rGPS). rGPS
entails the post-processed correction of the roving GPS module with simultaneously
acquired positional errors recorded at a known stationary reference location.
3. With SA enabled, GPS data were obtained at a fixed known location to obtain
baseline information, and from a roving module that essentially mimicked surveying
techniques or the movement of a free-ranging animal. The mean accuracy of GPS with
SA enabled was 21 m for the fixed module and 25 m for the roving module. Use of rGPS
and further manipulation of the data improved the mean accuracy of the data to 7 m for
the fixed module and 10 m for the roving module. With SA disabled, data were similarly
recorded from the fixed known location and resulted in a mean location accuracy of
5 m. The use of rGPS resulted in a significant improvement of this value to 36 m and
precision measured by the 95% quantile was < 10 m. For mapping and wildlife tracking,
such quality in terms of location accuracy and precision is unprecedented and demonstrates that rGPS may still be useful in many applications.
4. GPS enables the world-wide collection of accurate and precise location information
at 1-second intervals. Furthermore, by programming the GPS receiver to overdetermine
location by using information from all visible satellites, many of the limitations that
arise in habitats or environments with a limited view of the sky may be overcome.
5. With SA now disabled, the potential use of GPS will increase. With further miniaturization, surveying of remote featureless landscapes or the tracking of crepuscular or
far-ranging animals will become more accurate and more quantifiable than ever before.
Key-words: GPS, mapping, selective availability, surveying, telemetry, wildlife studies.
Journal of Applied Ecology (2001) 38, 869878
Introduction
Decision support tools are increasingly being used to
manage land resources and make land-use policy
2001 British
Ecological Society
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I.A.R. Hulbert
& J. French
2001 British
Ecological Society,
Journal of Applied
Ecology, 38,
869878
871
GPS for telemetry
and mapping
:
HDOP, accuracy and precision of GPS in GPS-SA
mode and rGPS-SA mode were assessed from data collected continuously at 5-second intervals at a fixed
location over a 24-h period on 2728 October 1998.
The GPS receiver, 5-volt power supply and memory
card were encased within a water-tight clear Perspex box
(40 25 25 cm) and placed at an accessible location
(ST1) on the mountainside. The location of ST1 relative
to the reference station was established by conventional
geodetic surveying techniques, using a surveyors total
station (Topcon model GTS 4B) that had an accuracy
of less than 23 m in the prevailing environment
(Bannister, Raymond & Baker 1992; Gooding et al. 1997).
: ,
-
2001 British
Ecological Society,
Journal of Applied
Ecology, 38,
869 878
:
The accuracy and precision of GPS in GPS mode and
rGPS mode were assessed from data collected continuously at 5-second intervals at ST1 over 24 h starting
at 09:00 on 28 September 2000. The GPS hardware and
software used in this test were unchanged from that
used previously. These data were compared against
data collected at 1-second intervals at the reference
station on the 2728 October 1998 when SA was
enabled.
Planimetric error in location recorded at the reference
station was removed from the data recorded at the fixed
and roving GPS modules using post-processing
software (Mariner Radar Ltd). All locations were
converted from latitude and longitude to the Universal
Transverse Mercator (UTM) grid using Microsoft
Excel and the transformation parameters provided
by Ordnance Survey (Ordnance Survey 1998).
Accuracy for both fixed and roving GPS modules
was determined by calculating the Euclidean distance
in metres from the true location and the derived location of the fixed and roving GPS for the eastings and
northings. To meet the requirements of normality,
the distance error from true location was loge(x + 1)
transformed (x = distance in m from true location).
All values reported in the text are back-transformed
values, while in the figures and tables the data and
statistics are presented as loge values.
Raleighs z-statistic tested for bias of the roving GPS
module and whether the locations had a uniform circular distribution around the true location (Zar 1984).
For locations derived when SA was enabled and
disabled, the strength of the relationship between
HDOP and accuracy was analysed for the fixed GPS
module using regression techniques with the number of
satellites available entered as a grouping effect. As
successive locations derived using GPS were nonindependent, a variance component model was fitted
by restricted maximum likelihood (REML) (Robinson
1987) to calculate means and standard errors of difference (SED) for locations derived in all four modes. The
Wald statistic, which has a chi-squared distribution,
was used to test the main effect of mode on accuracy.
Although the SED for pairwise comparisons varied,
for clarity only the mean SED for the primary fixed
effects are presented in the figures. All analysis was conducted using Genstat for Windows V541 (Lawes
Agricultural Trust 1997) and the term significant is
used in its statistical sense (P < 005).
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I.A.R. Hulbert
& J. French
Table 1. The number and percentage frequency of locations calculated by different satellite combinations at ST1 by the
fixed GPS in GPS-SA mode (SA enabled) for 19 h on 27 October 1998 and in GPS mode (SA disabled) for 23 h on
28 September 2000
GPS-SA mode
GPS mode
Number of
locations
Percentage
frequency
Number of
locations
Percentage
frequency
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Total
174
1 038
2 266
4 352
3 120
1 850
815
0
0
13 615
12
76
166
319
229
135
59
0
0
100
61
1 007
3 581
5 731
2 536
1 662
763
295
154
15 790
04
63
227
363
161
105
48
19
10
100
Fig. 1. Latitude in Ordnance Survey northings (units in metres) of the reference station recorded at 1-second intervals and plotted
against time for a 5000-second window on 27 October 1998. Latitude of fixed GPS at ST1 in GPS-SA mode and rGPS-SA mode
at 5-second intervals plotted against the same 5000-second time interval. The true location of fixed GPS at ST1 as recorded by
Total Survey Station is included for reference. The number of satellites used to calculate a location are recorded on the right hand
axis (the latitude of the reference station has had an offset included for ease of presentation).
Results
:
2001 British
Ecological Society,
Journal of Applied
Ecology, 38,
869878
873
GPS for telemetry
and mapping
Fig. 2. Location error (loge(x + 1)) in metres from true location for GPS-SA mode (n = 13 615), rGPS-SA mode (n = 13 615) and
modified rGPS-SA mode (n = 10 065) plotted against number of satellites used to calculate a location. The number of locations
calculated for each satellite combination is included on the figure. Equivalent back-transformed location error in metres is
plotted on the right-hand axis.
2001 British
Ecological Society,
Journal of Applied
Ecology, 38,
869 878
:
Location accuracy improved significantly with increasing numbers of satellites used to calculate a location
(2 = 5949, d.f. = 6, P < 0001; Fig. 2). For each mode
there was up to a fourfold improvement in accuracy
between locations calculated using data from four satellites (< 12% of data set) and those locations calculated using data from five or more satellites. Therefore,
all locations determined using data from four satellites or less were eliminated from further analysis.
Mode had a significant effect upon location accuracy
(2 = 18 425, d.f. = 2, P < 0001). Mean precision in
GPS-SA mode was 206 m and in rGPS-SA mode was
83 m. However, following the removal of the locations
associated with the large fluctuations witnessed at the
reference station, the mean accuracy of locations in
modified rGPS-SA mode was 67 m and the range in
the accuracy of the locations had almost halved
(Table 2). The precision of modified rGPS-SA locations was high, with 70% of locations within 10 m of
the true location and 95% within 22 m (Table 2).
: ,
The mean number of satellites used to calculate a location by the roving GPS module was 65 (n = 114, range
38). Three locations were calculated from information collected from four satellites and were eliminated
from the data set. Location errors at the roving GPS
module were comparable with that observed at the
fixed GPS in continuous operation and there was a significant difference between all three modes (2 = 911,
d.f. = 2, P < 0001; Table 2). Locations calculated in
GPS-SA mode resulted in a mean accuracy of 254 m,
while in rGPS-SA mode locations had a mean accuracy
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I.A.R. Hulbert
& J. French
Table 2. Location error (loge(x + 1) ) from true location, back-transformed location error in metres from true location and the
median, 70% and 95% quantiles for GPS-SA mode, rGPS-SA mode and modified rGPS-SA mode for the fixed and roving GPS
modules. Only locations using five or more satellites to calculate a location are included. For each GPS module, values with unlike
subscripts are significantly different (P < 005)
Fixed GPS module
GPS-SA
Mean loge(x + 1)
Mean back transformed
70%
95%
Range (m)
n
rGPS-SA
3073a
2228b
206
83
30
12
55
32
03 129
03 112
13 441
13 441
Mean SED for loge(x + 1) = 0016
Modified
rGPS-SA
2053c
67
10
22
03 58
9891
GPS-SA
rGPS-SA
Modified
rGPS-SA
3276a
2540b
2361b
254
116
96
37
18
13
64
58
40
2 84
187
164
111
111
71
Mean SED for loge(x + 1) = 0103
Fig. 3. Location of roving GPS plotted against a common origin for (a) GPS-SA mode, (b) rGPS-SA mode and (c) modified
rGPS-SA mode. Locations obtained with a satellite availability of 5 over an 8-h period. n = 111 for GPS-SA and rGPS-SA mode
while n = 71 for modified rGPS-SA mode.
2001 British
Ecological Society,
Journal of Applied
Ecology, 38,
869878
875
GPS for telemetry
and mapping
Table 3. Location error (loge(x + 1) ) from true location, back-transformed location error in metres from true location and the
median, 70% and 95% quantiles for GPS-SA mode, GPS mode and rGPS mode for the fixed GPS module. In GPS-SA mode and
GPS mode, locations are derived from all satellite combinations, but in rGPS mode only locations using five or more satellites are
included. Values with unlike subscripts/superscripts are significantly different (P < 005)
Mode
Mean loge(x + 1)
Mean back transformed
95%
Range (m)
n
Mean SED
GPS-SA
GPS
rGPS
3075a
206
569
03 320
13 615
GPS-SA /GPS mode = 00068
GPS/rGPS mode = 00056
179 ab
50
118
03 16
15 790
153b
36
84
0313
15 729
(Raleighs z111 = 09, P > 02; Fig. 3a). However, following correction for the planimetric error recorded
at the reference station, there was a significant bias in
the distribution of locations around the origin for
both rGPS-SA mode and modified rGPS-SA mode
(rGPS-SA mode: Raleighs z111 = 140, P < 005; modified rGPS-SA mode: Raleighs z71 = 167, P < 005;
Fig. 3b,c). Many more locations were concentrated
immediately south-west of the common origin for the
survey points, although there were several outliers
north-east of the common origin.
2001 British
Ecological Society,
Journal of Applied
Ecology, 38,
869 878
Discussion
The presence of SA had a significant and deleterious
impact on the accuracy and precision of GPS locations.
Indeed, without correcting for planimetric error, satellite availability or modifying the data set, mean accuracy and the 95% quantile in GPS-SA mode was more
than four times greater than that obtained when SA
was disabled (GPS mode), while the range in location
error was 20 times greater. Now that SA is disabled, the
application of GPS to determine location accurately is
at a level previously unavailable to the civilian user
without complex or expensive equipment (Hurn 1989;
Capaccio et al. 1997). Nevertheless, SA can potentially
be reactivated (Lawler 2000) and for all those locations derived before SA was disabled, robust techniques in data management are required to overcome
inaccuracies.
As others have noted (Edenius 1997; Moen, Pastor
& Cohen 1997; Rempel & Rodgers 1997), we have demonstrated that, regardless of SA, the use of HDOP to
censor locations based on expected error is not worthwhile because of the low predictive ability of the
regressions. Rather, significant improvements in
location quality could be achieved when more satellites
were used to calculate a location (Moen et al. 1996;
Moen, Pastor & Cohen 1997), by extracting the planimetric error recorded at the reference station from the
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I.A.R. Hulbert
& J. French
Fig. 4. The number of satellites used to calculate a location are recorded on the right-hand axis. Latitude in Ordnance Survey
northings (units in metres) of the reference station recorded at 1-second intervals and plotted against time for a 10 000-second
window on 28 September 2000. Latitude of fixed GPS at ST1 in GPS mode and rGPS mode at 5-second intervals plotted against
the same 10 000-second time interval. The number of satellites used to calculate a location are recorded on the right-hand axis (the
latitude of the reference station has had an offset included for ease of presentation).
2001 British
Ecological Society,
Journal of Applied
Ecology, 38,
869878
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GPS for telemetry
and mapping
Until SA was disabled, the large instantaneous fluctuations in location observed in Fig. 1 were assumed to
be primarily due to SA but may also have been due to
a variety of additional errors, including errors due to
the receiver itself (Rockwell 1996), topographically
induced errors (Moen et al. 1996; Rempel & Rodgers
1997) or errors due to ionospheric and tropospheric
delays (Rockwell 1996). Although it was not possible to
separate and identify the specific errors conclusively
within this study, the maintenance of a reference station and the recording of planimetric error at a known
location is still advantageous as all these additional
sources of error can be examined and if necessary
removed from any data set. Indeed, although the
impact of multipathing due to topographic reflection
has been considered as a potential source of error in
differential GPS (Rempel & Rodgers 1997), Wells
(1986) suggested that these effects are only likely to be
limiting at higher levels of accuracy, such as that now
expected with SA disabled. As the signal received at the
GPS module is a unique vector sum of a direct signal
and any number of indirect signals (Rockwell 1996),
highly reflective surfaces such as cliffs/mountain ridges
or highly conducting materials such as wet vegetation
may cause interference and reflection from signals
close to the GPS frequency of 1575 MHz. Now that SA
is disabled this issue requires further research to identify the prevalence and magnitude of the problem.
2001 British
Ecological Society,
Journal of Applied
Ecology, 38,
869 878
Acknowledgements
The study was carried out with financial support from
SERAD and from the Commission of European Communities FAIR programme. We acknowledge the field
assistance of David Rackham, Rod Gooding, Duncan
Robertson and John Holland. Ian Nevison of BIOSS
assisted with the statistics. Ron Moen, Mark Rutter
and an anonymous referee provided many useful comments on the original draft. Digital Land-Line
maps are Ordnance Survey Crown Copyright.
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Ecological Society,
Journal of Applied
Ecology, 38,
869878
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