GNSS-Acoustic positioning error in the vertical component considering the uncertainty of a reference sound speed profile

Abstract The precise detection of seafloor crustal deformation is important for understanding various tectonic phenomena, especially the deformation process associated with a seismic cycle. Global Navigation Satellite System–Acoustic (GNSS-A) positioning enables the measurement of horizontal and vertical seafloor deformations. However, vertical motion detected by GNSS-A positioning often has various systematic biases; therefore, the positioning error of vertical motion is typically worse than that of horizontal motion. In this study, we examined one of the systematic bias sources originating from the uncertainty of the reference sound speed profile (SSP) employed in GNSS-A positioning. Using direct oceanographic measurement data, we addressed the uncertainties of using a reference SSP in both cases, where the reference SSP was obtained from direct measurement and the oceanographic data assimilation model (JCOPE2M). We then examined the vertical GNSS-A positioning errors in both cases using the Monte Carlo method: ~2 and ~6 cm in the former and latter cases, respectively. Moreover, we optimized the vertical GNSS-A positioning errors by considering the uncertainty of a reference SSP and other error sources. The optimized vertical GNSS-A positioning errors successfully explain offsets of the campaign solutions deviated from a long-term displacement trend compared with the conventional error evaluations. Although this study focused on the uncertainty of a reference SSP, it is important to carefully evaluate various other systematic error sources to precisely detect vertical seafloor motion.