Shanghai Selects Ashtech Global Positioning System
for Multifunction Reference Network


By
Thales Navigation

The City of Shanghai, China has selected the Ashtech MicroZ Continuous Geodetic Reference Station and Geodetic Base Station Software from Thales Navigation for its Multifunction Reference Network. The first 14 stations are currently being installed in the Shanghai/Pudong region.  Five additional stations will be installed early next year.  The network will serve the needs of many simultaneous users. 

The first 14 stations are outfitted with Paroscientific MET3 Meteorological Measurement Systems.  GPS data plus meteorological information are collected and forwarded automatically every half hour to the Data Processing Center for scientific research.  The MET3 provides precise measurement of barometric pressure, temperature and relative humidity.  In conjunction with the GPS data, calculations of precipitable water vapor can be made.  The goal of this research is to improve the weather forecasting in the Shanghai region, which is prone to torrential monsoon rains and flooding from May to September.   

Data are also automatically sent to the Shanghai Institute of Survey and Mapping for use in GPS surveying and GIS (Geographic Information System) post processing.  The reference sites will be the primary high-accuracy reference for Shanghai .  

Ten of the sites are equipped with radios to broadcast RTK (Real-time Kinematics) and DGPS (differential GPS) messages throughout the Shanghai area for high-accuracy real time navigation, GIS, and surveying applications.  These differential corrections will be used by the RTK or DGPS user within Shanghai for a great variety of applications, including the RTK land Surveying, Vehicle Navigation, and the dredging operations to keep the Huangpu River and Hangzhou Bay open for shipping.

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Author:   This article was submitted by Thales Navigation
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