TCS GNSS Data and Products Consortium

Chair

Rui Fernandes

Consortium governance and coordination

UBI (Portugal)

Organizations in the consortium

• Bundesamt für Kartographie und Geodäsie (Germany)
• CNRS (France)
• Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur (France)
• Université Grenoble Alpes (France)
• Lechner Non-profit Ltd. (Hungary)
• INGV (Italy)
• Lantmäteriet (Sweden)
• ROB (Belgium)
• UBI (Portugal)
• Warsaw University of Technology (Poland)

Coordination and Interaction with GNSS Community

Leader: Universidade da Beira Interior (UBI)
Participants: Universidade da Beira Interior (UBI), Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB), Centre National de La Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), National Observatory of Athens (NOA), Geodetic Observatory Pecný (GOP), Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO), Foldmeresi es Taverzekelesi Intezet (FOMI), Bogazici Universitesi (KOERI) e Institutul National de Cercetare-Dezvoltare Pentru Fizica Pamantului (INCDP-RA).

This working team oversees communication among partners, besides interaction with external organizations such as UNAVCO, a non-profit university-governed consortium in United States, which facilitates geoscience research and education using geodesy.

Tasks performed by this team include:

• Establish communication channels for the interaction with the whole GNSS community, working in close cooperation with EPOS Communication (WP2) area in order to contribute in support EPOS communication strategy.
• Coordinate the activities measuring the impact of the provided services and data provision following the metrics elaborated by EPOS Harmonization area (WP3).
• Coordinate the organisation of presentations to the external community.

 

Coordination and Interaction with GNSS Community

Leader: Universidade da Beira Interior (UBI)
Participants: Universidade da Beira Interior (UBI), Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB), Centre National de La Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), National Observatory of Athens (NOA), Geodetic Observatory Pecný (GOP), Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO), Foldmeresi es Taverzekelesi Intezet (FOMI), Bogazici Universitesi (KOERI) e Institutul National de Cercetare-Dezvoltare Pentru Fizica Pamantului (INCDP-RA).

This working team oversees communication among partners, besides interaction with external organizations such as UNAVCO, a non-profit university-governed consortium in United States, which facilitates geoscience research and education using geodesy.

Tasks performed by this team include:

• Establish communication channels for the interaction with the whole GNSS community, working in close cooperation with EPOS Communication (WP2) area in order to contribute in support EPOS communication strategy.
• Coordinate the activities measuring the impact of the provided services and data provision following the metrics elaborated by EPOS Harmonization area (WP3).
• Coordinate the organisation of presentations to the external community.

Strategic Activities and Governance

Leader: Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB)
Participants: Universidade da Beira Interior (UBI), Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB), Centre National de La Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), National Observatory of Athens (NOA), Geodetic Observatory Pecný (GOP), Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO), Foldmeresi es Taverzekelesi Intezet (FOMI), Bogazici Universitesi (KOERI) e Institutul National de Cercetare-Dezvoltare Pentru Fizica Pamantului (INCDP-RA).

The overarching goal is to coordinate the strategic activities necessary to establish the governance structure for guaranteeing the long-term sustainability of the involved research infrastructures (RIs) for the data provision through EPOS. This team is in charge of verifying the proper and timely release of deliverables concerning legal, governance and financial information for Legal and Governance (WP4) and Financial Framework (WP5) activities.

Tasks performed by this team include:

• All legal work necessary to share and adopt the data policy and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) rules for guaranteeing access to data and services of the involved research infrastructures (RIs) through Integrated Core Services (ICS).
• The strategic work to establish the governance to link the Thematic Core Service (TCS) to EPOS-ERIC.
• For the GNSS services, special care will be taken to balance the need of the continuity and stability of EUREF Permanent GNSS Network (EPN) services and the new services and data access provided through GNSS Data & Products.
• All the financial work to provide information concerning the implementation costs assessment and the maintenance and operational costs of implemented infrastructures.

 

Interoperability with EPOS ICS and Testing

Leader: Universidade da Beira Interior (UBI)
Participants: Centre National de La Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)

This task works in close cooperation with TCS-ICS Interoperability (WP6) and ICS Development (WP7). It also works with other TCS to promote multidisciplinary interoperability, with special focus on seismology, volcanology, near fault observatories and satellite data.

Tasks performed by this team include:

• Coordinate activities in order to guarantee the interoperability between GNSS services (more specifically the data and products gateways) and the ICS. Carry out data preservation policy and identification of technical solutions to data preservation.
• Coordinate validation and testing phases.

GNSS Data Dissemination

Leader: Geodetic Observatory Pecný (GOP)
Participants: Universidade da Beira Interior (UBI), Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB), Centre National de La Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), National Observatory of Athens (NOA), Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO), e Institutul National de Cercetare-Dezvoltare Pentru Fizica Pamantului (INCDP-RA). Definition of metadata standards and implementation of interfaces, including tests, are the main goal of this working team.

Tasks performed by this team include:

• Definition of metadata standards and interfaces between GNSS data repositories and GNSS data nodes.
• Implementation of interfaces, by developing standard tools for GNSS data repositories and GSAC data nodes (QC standards tools, advanced GSAC functionalities/modules).
• Installation and testing of standard tools at the existing repositories and nodes of all involved partners, including associated partners.

GNSS Data Gateway

Leader: Centre National de La Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Participants: Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB)

This working team is specially dedicated to the construction of GNSS data gateway at the CNRS JRU Géoazur/Observatoire de la Côte d´Azur.

Tasks performed by this team include:

• Construct the interface with EPN (EUREF Permanent Network) and GSAC data nodes.
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GNSS Products

Leader: Centre National de La Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Participants: Universidade da Beira Interior (UBI), Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), National Observatory of Athens (NOA), Foldmeresi es Taverzekelesi Intezet (FOMI), Bogazici Universitesi (KOERI)

This team is responsible for developing the guidelines for processing, implementing massive processing at 2 EPOS processing centres to obtain European-scale solution and harmonized distributed processing at National Analysis Centres.

Tasks performed by this team include:

• Collect daily and weekly GNSS position solutions in standardized formats
• Combine of daily/weekly solutions to obtain homogeneous station time-series and velocities.
• Combine of solutions at the velocity level (large-scale European solutions, EPN densification product and solutions from National processing centres).
• Create a derivation of strain rate maps
• Test and validate combination products and test alternative combination strategies.

GNSS Products Gateway

Leader: Universidade da Beira Interior (UBI)
Participants: Bogazici Universitesi (KOERI)

This team is dedicated to setting up initial GNSS products dissemination services.

Tasks performed by this team include:

• Construct a web service to upload, visualize and download GNSS products.
• Implement user-friendly tools that will increase the cross-disciplinary use of geodetic data and the interoperability with adjacent disciplines.

Partners of EPOS (GNSS component)

UBI/C4G

Universidade da Beira Interior (UBI) is a Portuguese university, located at Covilhã. The mission of UBI is to "promote high-level qualification, production, transmission, critique and dissemination of knowledge, culture, science and technology, through study, teaching and research". Physically located at Department of Computer Sciences (DI-UBI) is SEGAL (Space & Earth Geodetic Analysis Laboratory), a collaborative scientific venture between UBI and Institute Geophysical Infante D. Luíz (IDL) which has vast experience in the acquisition and processing of GNSS observations for scientific applications, namely for reference frame and geodynamic studies, which have the highest requirements in terms of GNSS data quality. The Collaboratory for Geosciences (C4G) is a distributed research infrastructure (RI) that promotes the networking of researchers and the sharing of equipment, data, collections and tools in Solid Earth Sciences (SES).

ROB

The Royal Observatory of Belgium is a federal research institute concentrating on the Earth (space geodesy, seismology, gravity, Earth rotation), the Sun (coronal holes, solar activity, sun spots, space weather), and the stars. In its department "Reference Systems and Planetology", the GNSS research group is active in the maintenance of a national GNSS network, GNSS data analysis and interpretation for monitoring ground deformations and contributing to the elaboration to international reference frames, and the study of the Earth’s atmosphere (ionosphere and troposphere). Most of these activities are embedded in international programs like the International GNSS Service (IGS) and the EUREF Permanent GPS Network (EPN), used for the maintenance of the European Terrestrial Reference System (ETRS89). The GNSS research group is responsible for the EPN Central Bureau which is performing the network coordination of the EPN consisting of more than 320 permanently tracking GNSS stations distributed over more than 35 European countries. The ROB also acts as one of the EPN GNSS data centres and analysis centres.

CNRS

The National Center for Scientific Research (or CNRS) is a public organization under the responsibility of the French Ministry of Education and Research. Founded in 1939 by governmental decree, the CNRS aims to evaluate and carry out all research capable of advancing knowledge and bringing social, cultural, and economic benefits for society. Moreover, intends to contribute to the promotion and application of research results, develop scientific information, support research training and participate in the analysis of the national and international scientific climate and its potential for evolution in order to develop a national policy. CNRS promotes interdisciplinary research, encouraging collaboration between specialists from different disciplines, in particular with universities, thus opening up new fields of inquiry to meet social and economic needs.

INGV

The Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia was born in September 1999 through a merger of former Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica, Osservatorio Vesuviano and three other institutions: Istituto Internazionale di Vulcanologia, Istituto di Geochimica dei Fluidi and Istituto di Ricerca sul Rischio Sismico. INGV was meant to gather all scientific and technical institutions operating in Geophysics and Volcanology and to create a permanent scientific forum in the Earth Sciences. INGV cooperates with universities and other national public and private institutions, as well as with many research agencies worldwide. The new institution, currently the largest European body dealing with research in Geophysics and Volcanology, has its headquarters in Rome and important facilities in Milano, Bologna, Pisa, Napoli, Catania and Palermo. The main mission of INGV is the monitoring of geophysical phenomena in both the solid and fluid components of the Earth. INGV is devoted to 24-hour countrywide seismic surveillance, real-time volcanic monitoring, early warning and forecast activities.

NOA

The National Observatory of Athens facing the Parthenon and Thission is one of the landmarks of Athens; it has long been used by Greek and foreign Astronomers as the basis for astronomical, meteorological, cartographical and geodynamical measurements and observations in the more than 170 years long course of its history. Today the buildings of NOA at Thission include an Astrogeophysics Museum, housing clocks, telescopes and other instruments of the 19th century, as well as an extensive 19th century library. The activities of the National Observatory of Athens are organized in 3 research Institutes: the Institute of Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications and Remote Sensing, the Institute of Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, and the Geodynamics Institute.

GOP

The Geodetic Observatory Pecny is part of the The Department of Geodesy and Geodynamics of the Research Institute of Geodesy, Cartography and Topography while responsible for operation of all observing infrastructure (including data collection, data archivation and data dissemination): receivers of GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and JAXA observations; water vapor radiometer; tidal, superconducting and absolute gravimeters; meteorological observations; seismometer and some other instruments. The Department of Geodesy and Geodynamics of the Research Institute of Geodesy, Cartography and Topography is active in the field of Earth's gravity observation, modelling and theoretical studies, mathematical formulation of potential theory, satellite altimetry, DORIS analyses and GNSS observation, data management and analyses (post-processing, near real-time and real-time).

IMO

The Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) is a public institution under the auspices of the Ministry for the Environment and Natural Resources, historically based on the Icelandic Meteorological Office (1920) and the Icelandic Hydrological Survey (1948). The two institutions merged in 2009, with the responsibility of monitoring natural hazards in Iceland and conducting research in related fields, as well as participating in international monitoring and research. IMO has a staff of 130 people, of which 60 staff members work on research-related activities. IMO‘s nationwide monitoring systems consist of 115 automatic and 100 manned weather stations, a network of 170 hydrological gauges in rivers, a 55-station seismic network (SIL) with automatic, real-time data acquisition and earthquake location, a continuous GPS (ISGPS) network of 70 stations, some with high sample rate, a 5-station borehole strain meter network is operated in southern Iceland, and a weather radar, which can also monitor volcanic plumes, is located in south-western Iceland.

SGO – LTK 

The primary task of the Satellite Geodetic Observatory (SGO), a department of LTK, is to keep tracking up-to-date international research trends of satellite geodesy (multi-GNSS, InSAR) and carry out basic research and added-value development for the deployment of state-of-the-art technologies and services. The SGO is Hungary’s first and still only infrastructure, which was established with the dedicated task to learn space-geodetic technologies (GNSS, InSAR), run research studies and adapt satellite-based technologies to improve and modernise the Hungarian Geodetic Infrastructure.

 

INCDP - RA

The National Institute for Earth Physics is the leading institution for seismology in Romania, responsible for the earthquake monitoring of the territory and basic and applied researches in seismology. According to the legal regulations in force, the main objectives of NIEP are related to seismicity, earthquake monitoring and database management; physics of the earthquake source; structure and dynamics of the Earth interior; seismic hazard and risk; seismic engineering; seismotectonic processes; earthquakes prediction. The mission of the National Institute for Earth Physics (NIEP) or Institutul National de Cercetare Dezvoltare pentru Fizica Pământului (INFP) is monitoring of seismic activity in Romania and expansion of the boundaries of scientific knowledge, its creativity and efficiency increase through fundamental and applied researches in Earth physics domain, in general, and seismology domain, in particular.

 

KOERI

Geophysics department at Boğaziçi University, Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute gives the highest priority to original research with the aim of promoting young researchers and scientists reflecting the mobility of the modern science and the fast progress in technology within their research, together with the essential human qualities such as environmental awareness and preservation of the nature, while identifying and providing solutions in the part of the world we are living. Boğaziçi University’s vision is to be a leading institution of higher education, one that shapes the future through being a pioneer in education, teaching, and research. Its mission encompasses producing universal thought, science, and technology in service of humanity, playing a pioneering role in encouraging the spread of science, culture, and the arts throughout society.

Additional partners

Additional partners providing DDSS (data, data products, services, or software) during the operational phase of EPOS:

BKG | Bundesamt für Kartographie und Geodäsie, Germany

LM | Lantmäteriet, Sweden

Contact

Coordinator: Rui Manuel Fernandes