Assessing the Nonlinear Changes in Global Navigation Satellite System Vertical Time Series with Environmental Loading in Mainland China

This study investigated the nonlinear changes in the vertical motion of 411 GNSS reference stations situated in mainland China and assessed the influence of the environmental load on their vertical displacement. The researchers evaluated the effect of environmental load by calculating the change in annual cycle amplitude before and after its removal, focusing on its impact across regions with distinct foundation types. The results demonstrate that removing the environmental load led to a considerable reduction of approximately 50.25% in the annual cycle amplitude of vertical motion for GNSS reference stations in mainland China. This reduction in amplitude improved the positioning accuracy of the stations, with the highest WRMS reduction being 2.72 mm and an average reduction of 1.03 mm. The most significant impact was observed in the southwestern, northern, and northwestern regions, where the amplitude experienced a notable decrease. Conversely, the southeastern region exhibited a corresponding increase in amplitude. This article innovatively explored the effects of environmental loads on diverse foundation types. When categorizing GNSS reference stations based on their foundation type, namely, bedrock, 18 m soil layer, and 4–8 m soil layer stations, this study found that removing the environmental load resulted in reductions in annual cycle amplitudes of 49.37%, 59.61%, and 46.48%, respectively. These findings indicate that 18 m soil layer stations were more susceptible to environmental load-induced vertical motion. In conclusion, the impact of the environmental load was crucial when analyzing the vertical motion of GNSS reference stations in mainland China, as it was essential for establishing a high-precision coordinate reference framework and studying the tectonic structure of the region.