SPP location with spherical ray tracing by refractive index

Abstract

Atmospheric layer structure is a primary factor affecting the precision of single-point satellite positioning. The assumption of electromagnetic wave rectilinear propagation hinders the accurate implementation of ionospheric and tropospheric corrections, whereas curvilinear positioning methods fully account for ray deflection. This study aims to derive partial derivative formulas for theoretical travel time with respect to latitude, longitude, elevation, and velocity models by formulating electromagnetic wave travel time equations under a coordinate-based one-dimensional layered velocity model. Subsequently, a linearized LSQR method is employed to invert station coordinates, receiver clock biases, and electromagnetic wave velocities at the bottom of the ionosphere and troposphere using over six sets of observations. This replaces conventional ionospheric/tropospheric pseudorange corrections in single-point positioning, establishing a novel spherical coordinate refraction travel time positioning method. The classical straight-line pseudorange positioning is reformulated into a time-of-flight positioning approach, and the positioning accuracy differences between straight-line and spherical coordinate refraction travel time methods are compared. By integrating classical ionospheric and tropospheric models to construct corresponding refractive index models and combining them with curvilinear ray tracing methods, the inherent theoretical limitations of positioning can be effectively mitigated.