Accuracy analysis of GNSS-derived orthometric height in mountainous areas

Recently, GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System)-derived orthometric height determination has been studied to improve the time and cost-effectiveness of traditional leveling surveying. However, the accuracy of this new survey method was evaluated when unknown points are located lower than control points. In this study, the accuracy of GNSS-derived orthometric height was examined using TPs (Triangulation Points) to verify the stability of surveying in mountainous areas. The GNSS survey data were obtained from Mungyeong, Unbong/Hadong, Uljin, and Jangseong. Three unknown points were surrounded by more than three UCPs (Unified Control Points) or BMs (Benchmarks) following the guideline for applying GNSS-derived orthometric height determination. A newly developed national geoid model, KNGeoid17 (Korean National Geoid 2017), has been applied for determining the orthometric height. In comparison with the official orthometric heights of the TPs, the heights of the unknown points in Mungyeong and Unbong/Hadong differ by more than 20 cm. On the other hand, TPs in Uljin and Jangseong show 15 16 cm of local bias with respect to the official products. Since the precision of official orthometric heights of TPs is known to be about 10 cm, these errors exceed the limit of the precision. Therefore, the official products should be checked to offer more reliable results to surveyors. As an alternative method of verifying accuracy, three different GNSS post-processing software were applied, and the results from each software were compared. The results showed that the differences in the whole test areas did not exceed 5 cm. Therefore, it was concluded that the precision of the GNSS-derived orthometric height was less than 5 cm, even though the unknown points were higher than the control points.