Construction of a GNSS velocity field factoring in environmental loading

This paper seeks to explore the influence of environmental loading on Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) coordinate time series and station velocity estimates, ultimately aiming to augment the precision and reliability of the GNSS velocity field. Leveraging GNSS data from approximately 90 stations spanning Europe, in tandem with environmental loading data, the study introduces a methodology that integrates Extreme-Point Symmetric Mode Decomposition (ESMD) and least squares fitting to diminish the impacts of environmental loading. The findings reveal that, following the mitigation of environmental loading, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the GNSS time series undergoes a notable improvement, and the precision of station velocity estimates experiences a significant enhancement. Specifically, the velocity uncertainties in the East (E), North (N), and Up (U) directions decrease by 36.87%, 34.57%, and 29.12%, respectively. The resultant regional velocity field indicates a northwestward motion across much of Europe, corroborating the efficacy of the proposed methodology and furnishing reliable data support for crustal deformation and dynamics research endeavors.