Precise orbit determination of Haiyang-2 using satellite laser ranging

With the successful launch and official commissioning of China’s first dynamic ocean environment satellite Haiyang-2(HY-2),China’s capabilities for oceanic environment monitoring and oceanic resource detecting have been further improved and enhanced.Precise tracking and orbit determination are not only key technical concerns in the ocean dynamic environment satellite project but also necessary conditions for carrying out related oceanic science research using observational data obtained using spaceborne instruments including radar altimeter.In this study,the current available status of international satellite laser ranging(SLR) monitoring on HY-2 was introduced.Six-months of SLR data from HY-2 were processed to obtain precise satellite orbit information using the dynamic orbit determination method.We carried out a detailed assessment of the SLR orbit accuracy by internal evaluation,comparisons with the orbit derived by the French Doppler orbitography and radio-positioning integrated by satellite(DORIS) system,and station-satellite distance validation.These assessments indicate that the three-dimensional orbital accuracy of HY-2 is about 12.5 cm,and the radial accuracy is better than 3 cm.It provides a good example of the application of international SLR monitoring and precise orbit determination in China’s earth observation satellite project.     

Precision ERS-2 orbit determination combining multiple tracking techniques

Both of the oceanographic research by using altimetry and the application of InSAR of ERS-2 satellite need the precise ephemerides of the satellite. In this note, the ERS-2 orbit is precisely determined by using SLR and PRARE observations to take advantage of the high accuracy of SLR and the widespread data coverage of PRARE. Based on the software system SODS-VCE established by us, the ERS-2 orbits in 1997 are calculated. The evaluation from tracking data fits, endpoint consistency of orbital arcs and comparison with independent orbit implies an orbit accuracy of 5–6 cm in radial component which can satisfy the requirement of being better than 10 cm in oceanographic research by altimetry, being less than 20 cm in cross-track component which can meet the requirement of InSAR. In orbit computation, the method of variance component estimation is employed to weight the SLR, PRARE range and Doppler measurements properly. The results indicate that the application of the method can improve the computation accuracy efficiently.     

卫星轨道完备性监测研究

为了解决高精度定位中的卫星轨道粗差判别问题,采用轨道积分方法和轨道拟合方法,重点分析了卫星精密星历SP3文件的轨道积分精度,利用对卫星轨道加入不同粗差的计算方案,讨论了轨道积分的精度以及其对定位的影响,研究了利用卫星轨道积分精度实现完备性监测的方法。结果表明:通过卫星轨道积分精度的方法,可以反映卫星的粗差信息并予以将粗差卫星剔除;当剔除粗差卫星后,精密单点定位精度提高;当对正常卫星加入粗差,且随着加入粗差的增大,卫星轨道积分精度越来越差。该成果对完备性监测的研究具有一定的参考价值和指导意义。     

Variation of satellite transponder delay

For precise orbit determination of geosynchronous earth orbit(GEO)satellites using transfer ranging observations,it is generally assumed that the variation of the satellite transponder delay is very small and that it can be solved as a constant parameter together with satellite orbit parameters.However,this assumption is too general and it reduces the accuracy of orbit determination for GEO satellites.To study and analyse the impact of the satellite transponder delay on GEO satellites orbit determination,two schemes were proposed.First,the satellite transponder delay was eliminated by forming single-difference observations between two ground stations;second,the satellite transponder delay was described as a constant parameter.The preliminary results demonstrate a difference of about1–2 m between the two schemes when used for precise orbit determination of GEO satellites.By fixing the GEO satellite orbit and other relevant parameters estimated by single-difference model,we inversed the instantaneous transponder delay from non-difference observation.It was found that the satellite transponder delay has a distinct diurnal variation,with an amplitude of 3–4 m.The findings of this paper are helpful in establishing an accurate model of satellite transponder delay and in improving the accuracy of GEO satellites orbit determinations and predictions.     

卫星姿态对JASON-2卫星精密定轨影响分析

针对因姿态不稳定性对轨道的影响而难以评估的问题, 详细讨论了卫星的姿态模型, 推导了卫星姿态变化对观测值影响的解析表达式。模拟试验结果表明, 随着姿态不稳定性加剧, 轨道精度随之急剧下降, 另一方面姿态不稳定会随坐标轴不同而对轨道精度产生不同影响。为获得高精度的卫星轨道, 需要卫星姿态稳定性满足一定的要求, 尤其是相位中心偏大的坐标轴方向, 以JASON-2为例, 姿态在轴向变化必须稳定在2°内。基于JASON-2实测姿态计算表明, 该卫星姿态稳定性处在1°左右, 对轨道精度影响为0.036 m。该模拟实验方法为评估姿态稳定性对卫星精密轨道的影响提供了有效的方法。     

基于TLE数据的空间目标EDR分类及观测需求计算

根据能量耗散率（EDR）的定义及空间目标的大气阻力摄动加速度公式,推导出一种由卫星两行根数（TLE）数据计算空间目标EDR的方法. 该方法无需计算空间目标弹道系数和大气模型,EDR计算误差可在1%以下,并且运算量极小. 此外,通过空间目标相对轨道的协方差矩阵描述空间目标的定轨精度,并结合扩展卡尔曼滤波方程,提出一种计算平面轨道下不同EDR空间目标的定轨精度-观测需求曲线的方法. 仿真验证了EDR计算方法的有效性,并给出了雷达对不同EDR分类的目标观测时对应的定轨精度-观测需求曲线. 结果表明当观测稀疏时,目标轨道预报误差正比于EDR,而观测较多时,会有观测饱和现象.      

Zero-difference and single-difference precise orbit determination for LEO using GPS

Various methods for precise orbit determination (POD) of low earth orbiters (LEO) are briefly intro-duced in this paper. Based on the software named SHORD-Ⅲ developed by our institute,sin-gle-difference (SD) and zero-difference (ZD) dynamic POD based on LEO carrying an on-board GPS receiver is mainly discussed. The approaches are tested using real GRACE data (November 5―25,2002) and independently validated with Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) measurements over the same 21 days. Comparisons with the scientific orbits provided by GFZ indicate that the SD POD RMS accuracy can achieve 5,10 and 6 cm in radial,along and cross the track,and the ZD POD RMS accuracy can achieve 4,8 and 4 cm in radial,along and cross the track. SLR validation shows that SD POD accuracy is better than 8 cm in distance,and ZD POD accuracy is better than 6 cm.     

Statistic characteristics and weather significance of infrared TBB during May―August in Beijing and its vicinity

In order to meet the demand of nowcasting convective storms in Beijing, the climatological characteristics of convective storms in Beijing and its vicinity were analyzed based on the infrared （IR） temperature of black body （TBB） data during May--August of 1997--2004. The climatological probabilities, the diurnal cycle and the spatial distribution of convective storms are given respectively in this paper. The results show that the climatological characteristics of convective storms denoted by TBB≤-52℃ are consistent with those statistic studies based on the surface and lightning observations. Furthermore, the climatological characteristics of May and June are very different from those of July and August, showing that there are two types of convective storms in this region. One occurs in the transient polar air mass on the midlatitude continent during the late spring and early summer. This type of convection arises with thunder, strong wind gust and hail over the mountainous area in the northern part of this region from afternoon to nightfall, the other occurs with heavy rainfall in the warm and moist air mass over the North China Plain and vicinity of Bohai Sea. This study also shows that the long-term data of IR TBB observed by geostationary satellite can complement the temporal and spatial limitation of the weather radar and surface observations.     

Coupling and propagating of mesoscale sea level variability between the western Pacific and the South China Sea

The coupling and propagating features of mesoscale sea level variability between the western Pacific (WP) and the South China Sea (SCS) were studied based on time series analyses of satellite altimeter measured, along-track sea surface height anomalies (SSHA) along 21°N and the slope of the northern SCS. The analyses show that mesoscale sea level fluctuations in the WP have rather limited coherent effects on the SCS, and no statistically significant propagation of mesoscale variability through the Luzon Strait was observed except in the 45-day band. Evidence suggests that the 45-day fluctuation is very much likely a character of the Kuroshio originating from its low-latitude beginning. It is also sug- gested that the westward propagating Rossby waves will deform when they encounter the dynamical barrier of the Kuroshio. The Kuroshio will then acts on the SCS in its own way. The SCS is a relatively isolated system in the sense of coupling and propagating of oceanic mesoscale waves.     

Influence of O2/Ar ratio on the properties of transparent conductive niobium-doped ZnO films

Niobium-doped ZnO transparent conductive films are deposited on glass substrates by radio frequency sputtering at 300℃. The influence of O2/Ar ratio on the structural, electrical and optical properties of the as-deposited films is investigated by X-ray diffraction, Hall measurement and optical transmission spectroscopy. The lowest resistivity of 4.0×10^-4Ω· cm is obtained from the film deposited at the O2/Ar ratio of 1/12. The average optical transmittance of the films is over 90%.     

Utilizing Chinese high-resolution satellite images for inspection of unauthorized constructions in Beijing

After Beijing wins the bit to host the 29th Olympic Games, in order to manifest the technical support advantages and capabilities of the autonomously-developed RS and GIS based change detection techniques in 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, and from the standpoints of executing new city planning, relieving the traffic congestion as well as maintaining the historic features, an automatic satellite monitoring system has been studied and established to accomplish the mission of unauthorized construction inspection within the Sixth Ring Road of Beijing city quarterly, by adopting the CBERS-2 satellite images and combining technologies of GIS, GPS, etc. This article discusses the applicable procedures and key issues when utilizing such Chinese satellite images and relevant techniques to discover the illegal constructions, and introduces the monitoring system from both the design and implementation aspects; additionally, some typical application cases in the practice of the system are also illustrated. The monitoring system can timely supply abundant information to facilitate the policy-making of relevant planning departments, thus providing consolidate technical support to eliminate the illegal constructing behaviors in the blossom. During the five years＇ excellent performance, it has helped China save large amounts of expenditures for processing of unauthorized constructed buildings.     

Study of the varve record from Erlongwan maar lake, NE China, over the last 13 ka BP

In a sediment sequence from Erlongwan maar lake that spans the last 13 ka BP, two main varve types can be recognized： biogenic varves （from the present to -11.2 ka BP, 0-632 cm） and clastic varves （from -11.2 to -12.7 ka BP, 632-700 cm）. Based on the dominant types of algae contained in the sediment, the biogenic varves can be classified into dinocyst-biogenic varves （0-63 cm） and mixed （dinocyst and diatom）-biogenic varves （214-632 cm）. In this paper, the formation process and components of the varve are described, the possible reason for the types of varve changing throughout the record is discussed and a high-resolution varve chronology is established spanning the last 13 ka BP. Although further varve counting and error assessment are needed, the results presented here represent a solid foundation for studying the palaeoclimate record of Erlongwan maar lake.     

Seasonal and inter-annual variations of length of day and polar motion observed by SLR in 1993―2006

A time series of length of the day (LOD) and polar motion (PM) were estimated from the range data measured by the satellite laser ranging technique (SLR) to LAGEOS 1/2 through 1993 to 2006. Compared with EOPC04 released by the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS), the root mean squares errors for LOD, X and Y of PM are 0.0067 milliseconds (ms), 0.18 milli-arc-sec- onds (mas) and 0.20 mas, respectively. Then the time series are analyzed with the wavelet transformation and least squares method. Wavelet analysis shows that there are the obvious seasonal and inter- annual variations of LOD and PM, but the annual variation cannot be distinguished from the Chandler variation because these two frequencies are very close. The trends and periodic variations of LOD and PM are given in the least squares sense. LOD changes with the annual and semiannual periods. The annual and Chandler variations for PM are also detected, but the semiannual motion for PM is not found. The trend rate of the LOD change in 1993―2006 is ?0.18 ms per year, and the difference from the well- known 1.7 ms per century showed that the trend rate is diverse in different periods possibly. The trend rates of PM in the X and Y directions are 2.25 and 1.67 mas per year respectively, and the North Pole moves to 36.5°E relative to the crust, which is different from the direction of Greenland.     

Trend of China land water storage redistribution at medi- and large-spatial scales in recent five years by satellite gravity observations

The GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) satellite gravity mission has provided a new method to study land water mass redistribution at medi- and long-spatial scales in recent years. We estimate continental water mass redistribution in China using GRACE observations during 2003 to 2007. The results show some large regions with increase or decrease of land water mass storage in the central northern region, Tibetan Plateau, the Three Gorges region, the place where Qinghai, Sichuan and Gansu provinces meet, and the Altun Mountains region in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. In the first two regions, it is obvious that water (ice) mass storages are decreasing. Water mass in the central northern region decreases at a linear rate of 2.4 cm/a equivalent water height, equal to 5.2 billion cubic meters per year during the five years’ period, and water mass depletion in Hebei Province is ∼ 4.5 billion cubic meters per year in the same period, which is consistent with the average water mass depletion of 4.0 billion cubic meters per year of overused underground water in the recent 30 years estimated by Hebei Province Water Resources Bureau. Furthermore, GRACE can detect the water mass accumulation of ∼ 5 cm equivalent water height within the region spreading over about 0.12 million square kilometers due to the Three Gorges dam construction in June 2003. We also find a water mass gain of ∼ 1.1 cm/a in the areas where Qinghai, Sichuan and Gansu provinces meet. This indicates that the climate of these regions has been becoming gradually humid in recent years. Supported by Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. KZCX2-YW-202), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 40674038), and Program of Key Laboratory of Space Environment and Geodesy of Ministry of Education of China     

Study on elastic modulus of individual ferritin

The mechanical property of individual ferritin was measured with force-volume mapping (FV) under contact mode of atomic force microscopy (AFM) in this work. The elastic modulus of individual ferritin was estimated by the Hertz mode. The estimated value of the elastic modulus of individual ferritin was about 250－800 MPa under a small deformation. In addition, the elastic modulus of individual ferritin was compared with that of the colloid gold nanoparticle.     

Spatiotemporal vegetation cover variations in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau under global climate change

Empirical Orthogonal Function （EOF） analysis and the related Principal Components （PC） analysis are used to extract valuable vegetation cover derived information from the National Oceanic and Atmos-pheric Administration （NOAA-AVHRR）＇s Leaf Area Index （LAI） satellite images. Results suggest that from 1982 to 2000 global climate change has contributed to an increase in vegetation cover in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The correlation between rainfall and LAI EOF PC1 and PC2 indicates that rainfall is the major climatic factor influencing interannual variations of average vegetation cover throughout the entire Plateau. However, annual mean vegetation cover trends in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau are mainly out of phase with air temperature increasing, which is primarily responsible for nonsynchro-nous changes of vegetation cover. In the southern ridge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, recent warming trends contribute to humid weather and favorable conditions for vegetation growth. By contrast, higher temperatures have led to arid conditions and insufficient rainfall in the northern part of the Plateau, leading to drought and other climatic conditions which are not conducive to increased vegetation cover.     

Design and demonstration of a 0.22 THz gyrotron oscillator

Gyrotrons are the most powerful terahertz sources and have potential applications in many areas. A terahertz gyrotron oscillator with a pulsed solenoid producing up to an 8 T magnetic field has been designed, constructed and tested. In a 7.96 T magnetic field, 3 kW output power radiations at 0.22 THz frequency have been generated. Supported by the State Key Development Program of Basic Research of China (Grant No. 2007CB310400) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 1067611)     

Improved retracking algorithm for oceanic altimeter waveforms

Over the deep oceans without land/ice interference, the waveforms created by the return altimeter pulse generally follow the ocean model of Brown, and the corresponding range can be properly determined using the result from an onboard tracker. In the case of complex altimeter waveforms corrupted due to variety of reasons, the processor on the satellite cannot properly determine the center of the leading edge, and range observations can be in error. As an efficacious method to improve the precision of those altimeter observations with complex waveforms, waveform retracking is required to reprocess the original returning pulse. Based on basic altimeter theory and the geometric feature of altimeter waveforms, we developed a new altimeter waveform retracker, which is valid for all altimeter waveforms once there a reasonable returning signal exists. The performances of the existing Beta-5 retracker, threshold retracker, improved threshold retracker, and the new retracker are assessed in the experimental regions (China Seas and its adjacent regions), and the improvements in the accuracy of sea surface height are investigated by the difference between retracked altimeter observations and referenced geoid. The comparisons denote that the new algorithm gives a best performance both in the open ocean and coastal regions. Also, the new retracker presents a uniform performance in the whole test region. Besides, there is a significant improvement in the short-wavelength precision and the spatial resolution of sea surface height after retracking process.     

Near-infrared spectroscopy-based quantification of substrate and aqueous products in wastewater anaerobic fermentation processes

In this study, a Fourier transform near-infrared （FT-NIR） technique was used for process monitoring of anaerobic fermentation. Orthogonal signal correction （OSC） method was used as NIR spectral pre- processing options. Calibration models were established and the validation of the method was per- formed with the sucrose, ethanol and volatile fatty acids （VFAs） contents determined by the anthrone and gas chromatography methods, respectively. Spectral range and the number of internal latent variables were optimized for the best correlation coefficient. Test set validation of sucrose resulted in excellent measurement of prediction performance and the correlation coefficient of determination is 0.930. Similar prediction statistics for individual VFA and total VFA contents were obtained. These re- sults proved that the NIR spectroscopy technology is able to quantify the contents of both volatile fatty acids and sucrose in wastewater anaerobic fermentation process.     

Evolution of the serum resistance-associated SRA gene in African trypanosomes

Serum resistance-associated (SRA) protein, a protein unique for Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense, is responsible for resistance of this parasite to the lysis by normal human serum (NHS) and is a vital molecular marker to distinguish this species from other African trypanosomes. We cloned and sequenced the SRA basic copy (SRAbc) gene from T. b. rhodesiense and related species and found that this gene is confined to the subgenus Trypanozoon. The average 82% identity among the sequenced SRAbc genes indicates that they may have a common origin and are highly conserved. Since SRAbc coexists in the T. b. rhodesiense genome with SRA, we propose that SRAbc might be the ‘donor VSG’, which after duplication became inserted into the expression site by recombination. Under natural selection, SRAbc could reform into SRA following mosaic formation. Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 30570245, 30670275), Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University (Grant No. DPCKSCU/IRT0447), International Foundation for Science of Sweden (Grant No. B/4318-1), Grant Agency of the Czech Republic (Grant No. Z60220518) and Education Foundation of the Czech Republic (Grant No. 2B06129)