Next Article in Journal
Advancing Soil Erosion Mapping in Active Agricultural Lands Using Machine Learning and SHAP Analysis
Previous Article in Journal
Vegetation Changes and Its Driving Factors in the Three-River Headwaters Region from 1990 to 2022
 
 
Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
Journals
Remote Sensing
Volume 17
Issue 24
10.3390/rs17243949
remotesensing-logo
Submit to this Journal Review for this Journal Propose a Special Issue
► Article Menu

Article Menu

share Share announcement Help format_quote Cite
first_page
settings
Order Article Reprints
Font Type:
Arial Georgia Verdana
Font Size:
Aa Aa Aa
Line Spacing:
Column Width:
Background:
This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Precise Cross-Sea Orthometric Height Determination Using GNSS Carrier-Phase Time-Frequency Transfer

by
Kuangchao Wu
1,2,
Wen-Bin Shen
2,
Ziyu Shen
3,*,
Hok Sum Fok
2,
Yanming Guo
4,
Kezhao Li
1,
Weitao Yan
1,
Zengzeng Lian
1,
Jinjiang Wang
1 and
Huijia Guo
1
1
School of Surveying and Land Information Engineering, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo 454000, China
2
Time and Frequency Geodesy Center, Department of Geophysics, School of Geodesy and Geomatics, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079, China
3
School of Resource, Environmental Science and Engineering, Hubei University of Science and Technology, Xianning 437100, China
4
National Time Service Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710600, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Remote Sens. 2025, 17(24), 3949; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs17243949 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 21 October 2025 / Revised: 25 November 2025 / Accepted: 30 November 2025 / Published: 6 December 2025
(This article belongs to the Section Earth Observation Data)
Versions Notes

Abstract

State-of-the-art atomic clocks, in combination with high-precision time-frequency transfer techniques, have established a novel relativistic geodetic approach for determining the Earth’s geopotential. By exploiting ultra-stable atomic clocks and GNSS Precise Point Positioning (PPP) time-frequency transfer, this study investigates the cross-sea Orthometric Height (OH) determination between two remote stations separated by over 8000 km, corresponding to an OH difference of approximately 2260 m. Simulation results indicate that, when employing clocks with a frequency stability of 1 × 10−18, the remote OH determination could achieve a limiting accuracy of approximately 20 cm. This limitation is primarily attributed to the finite precision of the PPP time-frequency transfer, which constrains the ultimate performance of the OH determination. Furthermore, aggregating multiple observation periods could further enhance the accuracy to approximately 6 cm. These findings demonstrate that the PPP time-frequency transfer facilitates high-precision OH determination over intercontinental distances and thereby provides a feasible pathway toward the realization of a centimeter-level International Height Reference System (IHRS).
Keywords: relativistic geodesy; ultra-stable atomic clocks; PPP time-frequency transfer; corss-sea OH determination; International Height Reference System (IHRS) relativistic geodesy; ultra-stable atomic clocks; PPP time-frequency transfer; corss-sea OH determination; International Height Reference System (IHRS)

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Wu, K.; Shen, W.-B.; Shen, Z.; Fok, H.S.; Guo, Y.; Li, K.; Yan, W.; Lian, Z.; Wang, J.; Guo, H. Precise Cross-Sea Orthometric Height Determination Using GNSS Carrier-Phase Time-Frequency Transfer. Remote Sens. 2025, 17, 3949. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs17243949

AMA Style

Wu K, Shen W-B, Shen Z, Fok HS, Guo Y, Li K, Yan W, Lian Z, Wang J, Guo H. Precise Cross-Sea Orthometric Height Determination Using GNSS Carrier-Phase Time-Frequency Transfer. Remote Sensing. 2025; 17(24):3949. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs17243949

Chicago/Turabian Style

Wu, Kuangchao, Wen-Bin Shen, Ziyu Shen, Hok Sum Fok, Yanming Guo, Kezhao Li, Weitao Yan, Zengzeng Lian, Jinjiang Wang, and Huijia Guo. 2025. "Precise Cross-Sea Orthometric Height Determination Using GNSS Carrier-Phase Time-Frequency Transfer" Remote Sensing 17, no. 24: 3949. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs17243949

APA Style

Wu, K., Shen, W.-B., Shen, Z., Fok, H. S., Guo, Y., Li, K., Yan, W., Lian, Z., Wang, J., & Guo, H. (2025). Precise Cross-Sea Orthometric Height Determination Using GNSS Carrier-Phase Time-Frequency Transfer. Remote Sensing, 17(24), 3949. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs17243949

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Article metric data becomes available approximately 24 hours after publication online.
Back to TopTop