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BasicConcepts(GPSandGIS)Part1

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BasicConcepts(GPSandGIS)Part1

INWHICHyouareintroducedtofactsandconceptsrelatingtotheNAVSTARGlobalPositioningSystemand
haveyourfirstexperienceusingaGPSreceiver.

OVERVIEW
AsportsclubinSeattledecidedtomountahuntingexpedition.Theyemployedaguidewhocamewell
recommended,andwhoseownviewsofhisabilitiesweregreaterstill.Unfortunately,aftertwodays,thegroup
wascompletely,totallylost.YoutoldmeyouwerethebestguideintheStateofWashington,"fumedthe
personresponsibleforhiringtheguide."Iam,Iam"claimedthemandefensively."ButjustnowIthinkwere
inCanada."
Storiesliketheoneaboveshouldbetoldnow(ifatall),beforetheyceasetobeplausible.Actually,evenat
present,giventherightequipmentandamapofthegeneralarea,youcouldbeledblindfoldedtoanyspotinthe
greatoutofdoorsanddetermineexactlywhereyouwere.Thishappycapabilityisduetosomeingenious
electronicsandadozenbilliondollars1spentbytheU.S.government.IrefertoNAVSTAR(Navigation
SystemwithTimeAndRanginginformallythe"NavigationStar")aconstellationoffrom24to32satellites
orbitingtheEarth,broadcastingdatathatallowsusersonorneartheEarthtodeterminetheirspatialpositions.
ThemoregeneraltermintheUnitedStatesforsuchanentityis"GlobalPositioningSystem"or"GPS."The
Russianshavesuchanavigationsystemaswell,whichtheycallGLONASS(GlobalNavigationSatellite
System).(Onemightreflectthat,forsomepurposes,thecoldwarlastedjustlongenough.)Amoregeneral,
recentacronymforsuchsystemsisGNSS,standingforGlobalNavigationSatelliteSystems.Inthewestern
world,GPSusuallyimpliesNAVSTAR,soIwillusethetwodesignationsinterchangeablyinthistext.

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WhereAreYou?
Geography,andGeographicInformationSystems(GISs)particularly,dependontheconceptoflocation.
Workingwith"location"seemstoimplythatwemustorganizeandindexspace.Howdowedothat?
Formally,weusuallydelineategeographicalspaceintwodimensionsontheEarthssurfacewiththelatitude
longitudegraticule,orwithsomeothersystembasedonthatgraticule.
Butinformally,andinthevastmajorityofinstances,weorganizespaceintermsofthefeaturesinthatspace.
Wefindagivenfeatureorareabasedonourknowledgeofotherfeatureswhetherwearedrivingto
Vancouverorwalkingtotherefrigerator.Evenplanesandshipsusingradionavigationaldevicesdetermine
theirpositionsrelativetothelocationsoffixedantennae(thoughsomeoftheradiosignalsmaybeconvertedto
graticulecoordinates).
Unlikekeepingtrackoftime,whichwasinitiallycomputedrelativetoasingle,spacebasedobject(thesun),
humanskepttrackofspacefoundtheirwayonthegroundbyobservingwhatwasaroundthem.
Another,somewhatparallelwayoflookingatthisissueisintermsofabsoluteversusrelativecoordinates.IfI
tellyouthatLexington,Kentuckyisat38degrees(38)northlatitude,84.5westlongitude,Iamprovidingyou
withabsolutecoordinates.IfIsay,rather,thatLexingtonis75milessouthofCincinnati,Ohioand70mileseast
ofLouisville,Kentucky,Ihavegivenyourelativecoordinates.
Relativecoordinatesusuallyappealmoretoourintuitivecomprehensionof"location"thandoabsolute
coordinateshowever,relativecoordinatescanbequiteprecise.
Topassspatialinformationaround,humansdevelopedmapstodepictmountainsandroads,citiesandplains,
radiostationsandsinkholes.Mapsaidboththeformalandinformalapproachesthathumansusetofindobjects
andpaths.Somemapshaveformalcoordinates,butmapswithoutgraticulemarkingsarecommon.Allmaps
appealtoourintuitivesenseofspatialrelationships.Thecartographerusuallyreliesonourabilitytousethe
"cognitivecoordinates"inourmemory,andourabilitiestoanalyze,toextrapolate,andto"patternmatch"the
featuresonthemap.Itisgoodthatthismethodworks,since,unlikesomeamazingbirdandbutterflyspecies,
humanshavenodemonstratedsenseofanabsolutecoordinatesystem.Butwithmaps,andanother
technologicalinnovation,themagneticcompass,wehavemadeconsiderableprogressinlocatingourselves.
Idonotwanttoimplythatabsolutecoordinateshavenotplayedasignificantpartinourpositionfinding
activities.Theyhave,particularlyinnavigation.Atsea,orflyingoverunlitbodiesoflandatnight,captainsand
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pilotsusedmethodsthatprovidedabsolutecoordinates.Onesposition,withinafewmiles,canbefoundby
"shootingthestars"forashorttimewithdevicessuchassextantsoroctants.SotheGPSconceptfindingan
earthlypositionfrombodiesinspaceisnotanentirelynewidea.Buttheabilitytodosoduringtheday,
almostregardlessofweather,withhighaccuracyandalmostinstantaneously,makesamajorqualitative
difference.Asaparallel,considerthatahumancanmovebyfootorbyjetplane.Theyarebothmethodsof
locomotion,buttherethesimilarityends.
GPS,then,givespeopleaneasymethodforbothassigningandusingabsolutecoordinates.Now,humanscan
knowtheirpositions(i.e.,thecoordinatesthatspecifywheretheyare)combinedwithmapand/orGISdatathey
canknowtheirlocations(i.e.,wheretheyarewithrespecttoobjectsaroundthem).Ihopethat,bythetime
youvecompletedthistextandexperimentedwithaGPSreceiver,youwillagreethatNAVSTARconstitutesan
astoundingleapforward.

WHATTIMEISIT?
WhilethisisatextonhowtouseGPSinGISandhenceisprimarilyconcernedwithpositionalissues,it
wouldnotbecompletewithoutmentioningwhatmay,fortheaverageperson,bethemostimportantfacetof
GPS:providingEarthwithauniversal,exceedinglyaccuratetimesource.Allowinganypersonorpieceof
equipmenttoknowtheexacttimehastremendousimplicationsforthingswedependoneveryday(likegetting
informationacrosstheInternet,likesynchronizingtheelectricpowergridandthetelephonenetwork).Further,
humanknowledgeisenhancedbyresearchprojectsthatdependonknowingtheexacttimeindifferentpartsof
theworld.Forexample,itisnowpossibletotrackseismicwavescreatedbyearthquakes,fromonesideofthe
earth,throughitscenter,totheotherside,sincetheexacttime2maybeknownworldwide.3

GPSANDGIS
ThesubjectofthistopicistheuseofGPSasamethodofcollectinglocationaldataforGeographic
InformationSystems(GIS).Theappropriatenessofthisseemsobvious,butletsexploresomeofthemain
reasonsformakingGPSaprimarysourceofdataforGIS:
Availability:In1995,theU.S.DepartmentofDefense(DoD)declaredNAVSTARtohave"finaloperational
capability."Deciphered,thismeansthattheDoDhascommitteditselftomaintainingNAVSTARscapability
forciviliansatalevelspecifiedbylaw,fortheforeseeablefuture,atleastintimesofpeace.Therefore,those
withGPSreceiversmaylocatetheirpositionsanywhereontheEarth.
Accuracy:GPSallowstheusertoknowpositioninformationwithremarkableaccuracy.Areceiveroperating
byitself,canletyoulocateyourselfwithin10to20metersofthetrueposition.(Andlateryouwilllearnhowto
getaccuraciesof2to5meters.)Atleasttwofactorspromotesuchaccuracy:
First,withGPS,weworkwithprimarydatasources.ConsideronealternativetousingGPStogeneratespatial
data:thedigitizer.Adigitizerisessentiallyanelectronicdrawingtable,wherewithanoperatortraceslinesor
enterspointsby"pointing"with"crosshairs"embeddedinaclearplastic"puck"atfeaturesonamap.
OnecouldconsiderthatthegroundbasedportionofaGPSsystemandadigitizerareanalogous:theEarths
surfaceisthedigitizingtable,andtheGPSreceiverantennaplaysthepartofthecrosshairs,tracingalong,for
example,aroad.ButdatagenerationwithGPStakesplacebyrecordingthepositiononthemostfundamental
entityavailable:theEarthitself,ratherthanamaporphotographofapartoftheEarththatwasderivedthrough
aprocessinvolvingperhapsseveraltransformations.
Secondly,GPSitselfhashighinherentaccuracy.Theprecisionofadigitizermaybe0.1millimeters(mm).On
amapofscale1:24,000,thistranslatesinto2.4meters(m)ontheground.Adistanceof2.4miscomparableto
theaccuracyonemightexpectoftheproperlycorrecteddatafromamediumqualityGPSreceiver.Itwouldbe
hardtogetthisoutofthedigitizingprocess.Asecondaryroadonourmapmightberepresentedbyalinefive
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timesaswideastheprecisionofthedigitizer(0.5mmwide),givingadistanceonthegroundof12m,orabout
40feet.
Onlargerscalemaps,ofcourse,theprecisiononemightobtainfromadigitizercanexceedthatobtainedfrom
thesortofGPSreceivercommonlyusedtoputdataintoaGIS.Ona"200scalemap"(whereoneinchis
equivalentto200feetontheground)0.1mmwouldimplyadistanceofapproximatelyaquarterofameter,or
lessthanafoot.WhilethisdistanceiswellwithintherangeofGPScapability,theequipmenttoobtainsuch
accuracyisexpensiveandisusuallyusedforsurveying,ratherthanforgeneralGISspatialanalysisand
mapmakingactivities.Insummary,ifyouarewillingtopayforit,attheextremesofaccuracy,GPSwinsover
allothermethods.SurveyorsknowthatGPScanprovidehorizontal,realworldaccuraciesoflessthanone
centimeter.
Easeofuse:AnyonewhocanreadcoordinatesandfindthecorrespondingpositiononamapcanuseaGPS
receiver.Asinglepositionsoderivedisusuallyaccuratetowithin10metersorso.Thosewhowanttocollect
dataaccurateenoughforaGISmustinvolvethemselvesinmorecomplexprocedures,butthetaskisnomore
difficultthanmanyGISoperations.
GPSdataareinherentlythreedimensional:Inadditiontoprovidinglatitudelongitude(orother
"horizontal"information),aGPSreceivermayalsoprovidealtitudeinformation.Infact,unlessitdoesprovide
altitudeinformationitself,itmustbetolditsaltitudeinordertoknowwhereitisinahorizontalplane.The
accuracyofthethirddimensionofGPSdataisnotasgreat,usually,asthehorizontalaccuracies.Asaruleof
thumb,variancesinthehorizontalaccuracyshouldbemultipliedby1.5(andperhapsasmuchas3.0)togetan
estimateoftheverticalaccuracy.

ANATOMYOFTHETERM:"GLOBALPOSITIONINGSYSTEM"
Global:anywhereonEarth.Well,almostanywhere,butnot(ornotaswell):
insidebuildings
underground
inverysevereprecipitation
underheavytreecanopy
aroundstrongradiotransmissions
in"urbancanyons"amongsttallbuildings
nearpowerfulradiotransmitterantennasoranywhereelsenothavingadirectviewofasubstantialportion
ofthesky.TheradiowavesthatGPSsatellitestransmithaveveryshortlengthsabout20cm.Awaveofthis
lengthisgoodformeasuringbecauseitfollowsaverystraightpath,unlikeitslongercousinssuchasAMand
FMbandradiowavesthatmaybendconsiderably.Unfortunately,shortwavesalsodonotpenetratemattervery
well,sothetransmitterandthereceivermustnothavemuchsolidmatterbetweenthem,orthewavesare
blocked,aslightwavesareeasilyblocked.
Positioning:answeringbrandnewandageoldhumanquestions.Whereareyou?Howfastareyoumovingand
inwhatdirection?Inwhatdirectionshouldyougotogettosomeotherspecificlocation,andhowlongwouldit
takeatyourspeedtogetthere?And,mostimportantlyforGIS,wherehaveyoubeen?
System:acollectionofcomponentswithconnections(links)amongthem.Componentsandlinkshave
characteristics.GPSmightbedividedupinthefollowingway:4
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TheEarth
ThefirstmajorcomponentofGPSisEarthitself:itsmassanditssurface,andthespaceimmediatelyabove.
ThemassoftheEarthholdsthesatellitesinorbit.Fromthepointofviewofphysics,eachsatelliteistryingto
flybytheEarthatfourkilometerspersecond.TheEarthsgravitypullsonthesatelliteverticallysoitfalls.The
trajectoryofitsfallisatrackthatisparalleltothecurveoftheEarthssurface.
ThesurfaceoftheEarthisstuddedwithlittle"monuments"carefullypositionedmetalorstonemarkers
whosecoordinatesareknownquiteaccurately.Theselieinthe"numericalgraticule"whichweallagreeforms
thebasisforgeographicposition.Measurementsintheunitsofthegraticule,andbasedonthepositionsofthe
monuments,allowustodeterminethepositionofanyobjectwechooseonthesurfaceoftheEarth.

EarthCirclingSatellites
TheUnitedStatesGPSdesigncallsforatotalofatleast24andupto32solarpoweredradiotransmitters,
formingaconstellationsuchthatseveralare"visible"fromanypointonEarthatanygiventime.Thefirstone
waslaunchedonFebruary22,1978.Inmid1994all24werebroadcasting.Theminimum"constellation"of24
includesthree"spares."Asmanyas28havebeenupandworkingatonetime.
ThenewestGPSsatellites(designatedasBlockIIR)areata"middlealtitude"ofabout11,000nauticalmiles
(nm),orroughly20,400kilometers(km)or12,700statutemilesabovetheEarthssurface.Thisputsthem
abovethestandardorbitalheightofthespaceshuttle,mostothersatellites,andtheenormousamountofspace
junkthathasaccumulated.TheyarealsowellaboveEarthsair,wheretheyaresafefromtheeffectsof
atmosphericdrag.WhenGPSsatellites"die"theyaresenttoorbitsabout600milesfurtherout.
GPSsatellitesarebelowthegeostationarysatellites,usuallyusedforcommunicationsandsendingTV,
telephone,andothersignalsbacktoEarthbasedfixedantennas.Thesesatellitesare35,763km(or19,299nm
or22,223sm)abovetheEarth,wheretheyhangovertheequatorrelayingsignalsfromandtogroundbased
stations.
TheNAVSTARsatellitesareneitherpolarnorequatorial,butslicetheEarthslatitudesatabout55,executing
asinglerevolutionevery12hours.Further,althougheachsatelliteisina12hourorbit,anobserveronEarth
willseeitriseandsetabout4minutesearliereachday.5Therearefourorfivesatellitesinslotsineachofsix
distinctorbitalplanes(labeledA,B,C,D,E,andF)set60degreesapart.Theorbitsarealmostexactlycircular.

ThecombinationoftheEarthsrotationalspeedandthesatellitesorbitsproducesawidevarietyoftracks
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acrosstheEarthssurface.Figure11isaviewofthetrackswhichoccurredduringthefirsttwohoursafter
noononSt.PatricksDay,1996.YouarelookingdownontheEarth,directlyattheequatorandata(north
south)meridianthatpassesthroughLexington,Kentucky.Asyoucansee,byFigure11,thetracksnearthe
equatortendtobealmostnorthsouth.Thenumberofeachsatelliteisshownnearitstrackthenumbermarks
thepointwherethesatelliteisattheendofthetwohourperiod.
GPSsatellitesmoveataspeedof3.87km/sec(8,653milesperhour).TheBlockIIRsatellitesweighabout
1077kilograms(somewhatmorethanaton)andhavealengthofabout11.6meters(about38feet)withthe
solarpanelsextended.Thosepanelsgenerateabout1100wattsofpower.Theradioonboardbroadcastswith
about40wattsofpower.(Comparethatwithyour"clearchannel"FMstationwith50,000watts.)Theradio
frequencyusedforthecivilianGPSsignaliscalled"GPSL1"andisat1575.42megaHertz(MHz).

Figure11.GPSsatellitetrackslookingfromspacetowardtheEquator.
Eachsatellitehasonboardfouratomicclocks(eithercesiumorrubidium)thatkeeptimetowithinabillionthof
asecondorso,allowingusersonthegroundtodeterminethecurrenttimetowithinabout40billionthsofa
second.Eachsatelliteisworthabout$65millionandhasadesignlifeof10years.Figure12showsanimage
ofaNAVSTARsatellite.

GroundBasedStations
WhiletheGPSsatellitesarefreefromdragbytheatmosphere,theirtracksareinfluencedbythe
gravitationaleffectsofthemoonandsun,andbythesolarwind.Further,theyarecrammedwithelectronics.
Thus,boththeirtracksandtheirinnardsrequiremonitoring.Thisisaccomplishedbyfourgroundbasedstations
neartheequator,locatedonAscensionIslandintheSouthAtlantic,atDiegoGarciaintheIndianOcean,andon
KwajaleinAtoll,andinHawaii,bothinthePacific,plusthemastercontrolstation(MCS)atSchriever
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(formerlyFalcon)AirForceBasenearColoradoSprings,Colorado.Asixthstationisplannedtobegin
operationatCapeCanaveral,Florida.Eachsatellitepassesoveratleastonemonitoringstationtwiceaday.
Informationdevelopedbythemonitoringstationistransmittedbacktothesatellite,whichinturnrebroadcasts
ittoGPSreceivers.

Figure12.ANAVSTARGPSsatellite.
Subjectsofasatellitesbroadcastarethehealthofthesatelliteselectronics,howthetrackofthesatellite
variesfromwhatisexpected,thecurrentalmanac6forallthesatellites,andother,moreesotericsubjectswhich
neednotconcernusatthispoint.Othergroundbasedstationsexist,primarilyforuploadinginformationtothe
satellites.

Receivers
Thisisthepartofthesystemwithwhichyouwillbecomemostfamiliar.Initsmostbasicform,thesatellite
receiverconsistsof
anantenna(whosepositionthereceiverreports),
electronicstoreceivethesatellitesignals,
amicrocomputertoprocessthedatathatdeterminestheantennaposition,andtorecordposition
values,
controlstoprovideuserinputtothereceiver,and
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ascreentodisplayinformation.
Moreelaborateunitshavecomputermemorytostorepositiondatapointsandthevelocityoftheantenna.This
informationmaybeuploadedintoapersonalcomputerorworkstation,andtheninstalledinGISsoftware
database.AnotherelaborationonthebasicGPSunitistheabilitytoreceivedatafromandtransmitdatatoother
GPSreceiversatechniquecalled"realtimedifferentialGPS"thatmaybeusedtoconsiderablyincreasethe
accuracyofpositionfinding.

ReceiverManufacturers
Inadditiontobeinganengineeringmarvelandofgreatbenefittomanyconcernedwithspatialissuesas
complexasnationaldefenseorasmundaneasrefindingagreatfishingspot,GPSisalsobigbusiness.Dozens
ofGPSreceiverbuildersexistfromthosewhomanufacturejusttheGPS"engine,"tothosewhoprovidea
completeunitfortheenduser.Inthistextweexplaintheconceptsingeneral,butuseTrimbleNavigation,Ltd.
equipmentsinceitworkswell,isquiteaccurate,hasaprogramofeducationaldiscounts,andislikelytobepart
ofeducationalGPSlabsthroughoutthecountry.

TheUnitedStatesDepartmentofDefense
TheU.S.DoDischargedbylawwithdevelopingandmaintainingNAVSTAR.Itwas,atfirst,secret.Five
yearselapsedfromthefirstsatellitelaunchin1978untilnewsofGPScameoutin1983.Thestory,perhaps
apocryphal,isthatPresidentReagan,atthetimeaKoreanairlinerstrayedintoSovietairspaceandwasshot
down,lamentedsomethinglike"thiswouldnthavehappenedifthedamnGPShadbeenup."Areporterwho
overheardwantedtoknowwhatGPSwas.Inthealmosttwodecadessincedespitethefactthatpartsofthe
systemremainhighlyclassifiedmerecitizenshavebeencashinginonwhatTrimbleNavigation,Ltd.calls
"TheNextUtility."
ThereislittlequestionthatthedesignofGPSwouldhavebeendifferenthaditbeenaciviliansystem"from
thegroundup."Butthen,GPSmightnothavebeendevelopedatall.Manyissuesmustberesolvedinthe
comingyears.APresidentialDirectiveissuedinMarchof1996designatedtheU.S.Departmentof
TransportationastheleadcivilianagencytoworkwithDoDsothatnonmilitaryusescanbloom.DoDis
learningtoplaynicelywiththecivilianworld.Theyandweallhope,ofcourse,thatthecivilusesofGPSwill
vastlyoutpacethemilitaryneed.
Oneimportantmatterhasbeenaddressed:ForyearsthemilitarydeliberatelycorruptedtheGPSsignalsso
thatasingleGPSunit,operatingbyitself(i.e.,autonomously),couldnotassureaccuracyofbetterthan100
meters.Thispolicy(knownasSelectiveAvailability[SA])wasterminatedon2May2000.Nowusersof
autonomousreceiversmayknowtheirlocationswithin10to20meters.

Users
Finally,ofcourse,themostimportantcomponentofthesystemisyou:the"youser,"asmyeightyearold
spelledit.Alargeandquicklygrowingpopulation,userscomewithawidevarietyofneeds,applications,and
ideas.FromtrackingicefloesnearAlaskatodigitizinghighwaysinOhio.Fromrescuingsailorstopinpointing
toxicdumpsites.Fromurbanplanningtoforestmanagement.Fromimprovingcropyieldstolayingpipelines.
WelcometotheexcitingworldofGPS!

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