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pages.skl

pages input file controlling the models and constaints used in the solution


Overview

The pages.skl file contains those model and constraint controls which rarely change. pages.skl is a required control file for pages. pages.skl is an ASCII file and, therefore, easily modifiable with an editor.

A basic pages.skl file contains two sections:

  1. model control,
  2. constraint control.
Each section will be described in detail below but some general rules are:
  1. Only one model control section is permitted,
  2. The model control entries must appear in the order shown,
  3. The model control entries should be included,
  4. The constraint controls are entered using a descriptive line or identifier, or an identifier and value,
  5. Any file name may include the path,
  6. The default path is always the current directory,
  7. The maximum length of a file name plus path is 64 characters,
  8. All characters to the right of a dollar sign, "$", are ignored,
  9. Lines starting with a dollar sign are skipped,
  10. Blanks are not significant except in names including constraint identifier names,
  11. Control flags are not case sensitive. However, file and site names, and constraint identifiers are case sensitive.


Model Control Section

Example:                                                       Example
                                                             Line number
    0                    $ Diagnostics                           ( 1)
    900                  $ Screen Output Interval [sec]          ( 2)
    30                   $ Observation Interval [sec]            ( 3)
    15                   $ Elevation Cutoff [deg]                ( 4)
    540                  $ Data Gap [sec]                        ( 5)
    1.0E-01              $ Edit Limit [m]                        ( 6)
    0                    $ Tropo Model                           ( 7)
    1 1                  $ TSF Flags                             ( 8)
    7200   7200          $ TSF Max & Min Times [sec]             ( 9)
    1 90                 $ TSF Elv Bin Number & Limits [deg]     (10)
    0                    $ TSF Min Obs Number                    (11)
    0 0 0 0              $ PM & LOD Flags                        (12)
    86400                $ PM & LOD Time [sec]                   (13)
    ../files/site_info   $ Station Info File                     (14)
     $ Satellite Info File                                       (15)
     $ Descriptive Text File                                     (16)
     $ Pole File                                                 (17)
     $ UT1 File                                                  (18)
     $ Broadcast Orbit File                                      (19)
    phscor               $ Antenna phase corrections             (20)
    END                                                          (21)

Following is a detailed explanation of each line of the Model Control Section of the pages.skl file:

Line 1.


       0                    $ Diagnostics

The diagnostic flag controls the amount of information pages tells the user about its actions. The larger the number, the more information is output. The most common settings are:

    0   = minimum info
    1   = post-fit residual plots
    2   = a priori and post-fit residual plots
This flag is potentially dangerous because of the large quantities of printed output which could be generated.

Line 2.


       900                  $ Screen Output Interval [sec]

The screen output interval flag controls how frequently pages confirms its operation by writing the current data time to the screen. Units are in seconds. In the example, messages appear on the screen after each five minutes of data are processed.

Line 3.


       30                   $ Observation Interval [sec]

The observation interval flag controls how much data are used. Units are in seconds. For example, data may be recorded and edited using a 30-second interval, but processed by pages using a 120-second interval. The shorter interval would have advantages for data editing, but be unnecessary for a satisfactory final solution.

Line 4.


       15                   $ Elevation Cutoff [deg]

The elevation cutoff flag governs the minimum elevation an observation must be to be processed in pages.

Line 5.


       540                  $ Data Gap [sec]

A gap in the data implies a discontinuity or cycle slip. The data gap flag specifies the minimum significant gap size in seconds. A new phase ambiguity for a baseline-satellite combination will be estimated automatically if a gap in the satellite's tracking is longer than this interval (and no integer bias has been given).

Line 6.


       1.0E-01              $ Edit Limit [m]

Because pages has the capability to identify outliers and issue edit instructions to delete such data points, this parameter will set the limit, in meters, beyond which a point is designated as an outlier.

Lines 7 - 11

    0                    $ Tropo Model
    1 1                  $ TSF Flags     
    7200    7200         $ TSF Max & Min Times [sec]
    1 90                 $ TSF Elv Bin Number & Limits [deg]
    0                    $ TSF Min Obs Number

The above five lines control the tropospheric model, the estimation type, and the interval. The first line of the five identifies the tropospheric model to use. Three options are available:


       0  = the NMF mapping functions with Saastemoinen dry and wet tropo
            models (default);
       1  = the CfA 2.2 mapping functions with Saastemoinen dry and wet
            tropo models;
       2  = tropo model included in the database. Currently this is the
            Marini model.

Line 8 contains two flags controlling the manner in which the tropo corrections are to be estimated. A "0" for both flags instructs pages not to estimate tropo corrections. This overrides any instructions in the pages.inp file. A "1" in the first position causes pages to estimate constant, additive, wet tropo corrections for the stations designated in the pages.inp file. A "1" in the second position causes a piecewise-linear, continuous wet tropo correction to be estimated regardless of the value of the first parameter.

Line 9 sets the duration of the estimated tropo correction. Two numbers appear on this line. Both values are used in current research. In normal operation both values must be identical. The units are in seconds.

Lines 10 and 11 are reserved for research and should be left at:


          1 90
          0

respectively.

Lines 12 - 13

    0 0 0 0            $ PM & LOD Flags
    86400              $ PM & LOD Time [sec]

The two lines above control the estimation of Earth orientation parameters (EOP). Line 12 controls which EOP are estimated and how. The four values actually are two pairs of values. The first pair controls the X and Y pole estimate, while the second pair controls the UT1 estimate. As with the tropospheric parameters, a "0" means no estimation should occur. A "1" in the first position of each pair instructs the program to estimate additive, constant corrections. A "1" in the second position of each pair causes a piecewise-linear continuous estimation.

Line 13 sets the frequency at which these EOP corrections are estimated. Units are in seconds. This limit applies to all EOP parameter estimates.

Line 14.

       ../files/site_info $ Station Info File

Defines an input file name for A-priori station information.

Line 15.

        $ Satellite Info File

In the current pages configuration, this line 15 is defunct.

Line 16.

        $ Descriptive Text File

In the current pages configuration, this line 16 is defunct.

Line 17.

        $ Pole File

This file contains A-priori information defining the X,Y pole values. The X and Y pole file must be named "pole." with no path and therefore must reside in the current directory, if named.

Line 18.

        $ UT1 File

The UT1 file must be named "ut1." with no path and therefore must reside in the current directory, if named.

Line 19.

        $ Broadcast Orbit File

Self-explanatory.

Line 20.

       phscor            $ Antenna Phase Corrections


Line 21.

       END
This line marks the end of the Model Control Section


Constraint Control Section

Because the constraint control identifiers can appear in any order, the various possible identifiers will be listed alphabetically with their descriptions and examples, where necessary. The case, spelling and spacing of these identifiers is significant. This section name is somewhat misleading because many types of parameters can be entered or flags set in this section. Ultimately, all parameterization, including that described in the Model Control Section above, will be included in this section.

The Constraint Control Section requires two identifiers regardless of the inclusion of any other identifiers:

OPTIONS
This identifies the start of the Constraint Control Section.
END_OPTS
This identifies the end of the Constraint Control Section.
All other constraint identifiers are optional. Some require additional information. These cases will be noted and described in detail including FORTRAN format specifications.

Following is a list, in alphabetical order, of all current options available for the Constraint Control Section of the pages.skl file:

AGENCY ID
The SP3 format requires a four-character ID for the agency which created the file. The default, "NGS", can be overridden with this identifier.
NOTE: requires additional input on next line.
The identifier is followed by a string.
FORMAT: (A)

APPLY DD CORRELATIONS
Double-differencing introduces undesireable correlations between satellites. These correlations are not normally accounted for in the processing. This identifier forces pages to include a de-correlation technique which corrects for this effect.

AVG. SITE CONST
End is identified by END-AVSI
Constrains the centroid of a group of sites. Each site could shift but the average of the coordinates must not.
NOTE: requires additional input on subsequent lines.
There are two possible options to apply with this constraint:
1. USE A-PRIORI VALUES
This option causes pages to use the centroid of the input station coordinates in defining the constraint equations. The next line must give a variance to be applied to the constraint equation.
UNITS: meters squared
FORMAT: (13X, F16.6)
Immediately following the variance line are lines designating the sites to be constrained, one line per site.
Example:
AVG. SITE CONST
USE A-PRIORI VALUES
1.0e-06
sant
mcmu
END-AVSI
2. If USE A-PRIORI VALUES is not specified, then the variance line is followed by the lines designating the sites to be constrained and the coordinates to use for defining the centroid of those sites, one site per line.
UNITS: meters
FORMAT: (A12, 1X, 3F16.6)
Example:
AVG. SITE CONST
1.0e-06
sant 1769693.285393 -5044574.219096 -3468321.218509
mcmu -1310696.280131 310469.128906 -6213368.431436
END-AVSI

AVG. SITE VEL. CONST.
End is identified by END-SITE
Constrains the velocity centroid of a group of sites. Each site's velocity could shift, but the average must not.
NOTE: requires additional input on subsequent lines.
The next line must define a constraint on either rotation or translation, and both may be included, one immediately following the other. These options are defined as follows:
ROTATION
Indicates a constraint on the rotation of the network, as defined by the velocities of the constrained sites, plus three rotational velocity components to be applied and a variance for the constraint.
UNITS: radians/year for velocity; (radians/year)squared for variance
FORMAT: (A12, 1X, 4F16.8)
TRANSLATION
Indicates a constraint on the translation of the network, as defined by the velocities of the constrained sites, plus three velocity components to be applied and a variance for the constraint.
UNITS: meters/year for velocity; (meters/year)squared for variance
FORMAT: (A12, 1X, 4F16.8)
Following these entries, the identifiers of the sites to be used in the constraint are given, one entry per line.
Note that the velocity components defined in these constraints may be zero, or can be computed from an a-priori velocity model for the sites selected. To do so one must get the sum of the cross products of the (A-priori velocity - Model velocity) times the coordinate vector for the sites to be included.
Example:
AVG. SITE VEL. CONST.
TRANSLATION 0.000 0.000 0.000 1.000e-05
ROTATION 0.000 0.000 0.000 1.000e-05
sant
mcmu
END-SITE

COMMENTS
End is identified by END_COMM
Any remarks desired may be placed between these identifiers.

CONSTRAIN AVERAGE UT1
Constrains the average UT1 estimates.
NOTE: requires additional input on next line.
The identifier is followed by the standard deviation to be applied.
UNITS: seconds
FORMAT: free format

CONSTRAIN FIRST UT1
Constrains the first UT1 estimate.
NOTE: requires additional input on next line.
The identifier is followed by the standard deviation to be applied.
UNITS: seconds
FORMAT: free format

CONST. INDIVIDUAL SITE
End is identified by END-INDV-SITES
Constrains the coordinates of the indicated sites.
NOTE: requires additional input on subsequent lines.
There are two possible options to apply with this constraint:
1. USE A-PRIORI VALUES
This option causes pages to use the a-priori station coordinates and sigmas to define the constraints. The site ID's and an additional factor which is multiplied times the weight to be applied to the constraints follow, one entry per line.
UNITS: meters squared
FORMAT: (A12, 1X, E16.8)
Example:
CONST. INDIVIDUAL SITE
USE A-PRIORI VALUES
kokb 1.000e+00
algo 1.000e+00
madr 1.000e+00
END-INDV-SITES

2. Specify the site ID's, coordinates, and variances to be applied.
UNITS: meters for coordinates; meters squared for variance
FORMAT: (A12, 1X, 3F16.8, E16.8)
Example:
CONST. INDIVIDUAL SITE
sant 1769693.285393 -5044574.219096 -3468321.218509 1.000e-10
mcmu -1310696.280131 310469.128906 -6213368.431436 1.000e-10
END-INDV SITES

CONST. INDIVIDUAL VEL.
End is identified by END-INDV-VEL.
Constrains the indivdual sites' velocities.
NOTE: requires additional input on subsequent lines.
There are two possible options to apply with this constraint.
1. USE A-PRIORI VALUES
This option causes pages to use the input station velocities and sigmas as constraints. The site ID's and an additional factor which is multiplied times the weight to be applied to the constraints follow, one entry per line.
UNITS: (meters/year)squared
FORMAT: (A12, 1X, E16.8)
Example:
CONST. INDIVIDUAL VEL.
USE A-PRIORI VALUES
kokb 1.000e+00
algo 1.000e+00
madr 1.000e+00
END-INDV-VEL.

2. Specify the site ID's, velocities, and variances to be applied.
UNITS: meters/year for velocities; (meters/year)squared for variance.
FORMAT: (A12, 1X, 3F16.8, E16.8)
Example:
CONST. INDIVIDUAL VEL
sant 0.005 -0.007 0.002 1.000e-05
mcmu 0.110 -0.110 -0.103 1.000e-05
END-INDV-VEL.

DEFINE JUNCTION SITES
End is identified by END-JUNCT
Designates sites whose tropospheric corrections should be carried in the global part of the matrix. This is necessary for sites common in normal matrices to be joined into a combined adjustment using the program gpscom.
NOTE: requires additional input on subsequent lines.
The site ID's are listed, one per line.
Example:
DEFINE JUNCTION SITES
sant
mcmu
END-JUNCT

EPOCH FOR OUTPUT
The coordinates of all sites are rotated to a common epoch on output. The default is the start of the year the data were taken. This default can be changed with this identifier.
NOTE: requires additional input on next line.
The identifier is followed on the next line by a date.
FORMAT: one of the following:
  • year month day hour minute second
  • year day-of-year hour minute second
  • year month day
  • year day-of-year
  • modified Julian date

EQUAL VELOCITY PAIRS
End is identified by END-PAIR
This identifier forces pairs of sites to have the same velocity.
NOTE: requires additional input on subsequent lines.
The next line must give the variance to be applied as the constraint.
UNITS: (meters/year)squared
FORMAT: (13X, F16.8)
Subsequent lines contain two site ID's per line, designating the
site pairs to constrain.
FORMAT: (A12, 2X, A12)
Example:
EQUAL VELOCITY PAIRS
1.0e-07
gait gode
kosg brus
END-PAIR

FRAME ID
The SP3 format requires a five-character ID for the agency which created the file. The default, "ITRF94", can be overridden with this identifier.
NOTE: requires additional input on next line.
The identifier is followed by a string on the same line.
FORMAT: (15x,A)

HOLD APRIORI SCALE
Constrains the apriori scale of the reference frame. The sites used to define this constraint are the same used in the list for either identifier AVG. SITE CONST. or CONST. INDIVIDUAL SITE. Constrains the adjustment such that the sites move inwards or outwards from the center of the frame so that the original scale is unchanged.
NOTE: requires additional input on next line.
The identifier is followed by the variance to be applied.
UNITS: (radians/year)squared
FORMAT: (13X, F16.8)

HOLD APRIORI VELOCITIES
Constrains all sites to their apriori velocities.
NOTE: requires additional input on next line.
The identifier is followed by the variance to be applied.
UNITS: (radians/year)squared
FORMAT: (13X, F16.8)

MAKE EOP GLOBAL
Indicates that EOP parameters are to appear in the global part of the matrix.

MAKE SATELLITES GLOBAL
Indicates that satellite parameters are to appear in the global part of the matrix.

NO SOLUTION
Forces pages to exit immediately after creating and writing the normal matrix file.

NO XYZ ROTATION ABOUT X
Constrains the average rotation of the network as defined by the computed coordinate shifts, about the X-axis. The sites used to define this constraint are the same used in the list for either identifier AVG. SITE CONST. or CONST. INDIVIDUAL SITE.
NOTE: requires additional input on next line.
The identifier is followed by the variance to be applied.
UNITS: (radians/year)squared
FORMAT: (13X, E16.8)

NO XYZ ROTATION ABOUT Y
Constrains the average rotation of the network as defined by the computed coordinate shifts, about the Y-axis. The sites used to define this constraint are the same used in the list for either identifier AVG. SITE CONST. or CONST. INDIVIDUAL SITE.
NOTE: requires additional input on next line.
The identifier is followed by the variance to be applied.
UNITS: (radians/year)squared
FORMAT: (13X, E16.8)

NO XYZ ROTATION ABOUT Z
Constrains the average rotation of the network as defined by the computed coordinate shifts, about the Z-axis. The sites used to define this constraint are the same used in the list for either identifier AVG. SITE CONST. or CONST. INDIVIDUAL SITE.
NOTE: requires additional input on next line.
The identifier is followed by the variance to be applied.
UNITS: (radians/year)squared
FORMAT: (13X, E16.8)

OBSERVATIONS STANDARD ERROR
The estimated error in the observable.
NOTE: requires additional input on next line.
The identifier is followed by the standard deviation to be applied.
UNITS: meters
FORMAT: (13X, F16.8)

OUTPUT INTEGER FILES
Instructs pages to create phase ambiguity (integer) files in the standard format.

PROJECT NAME
The project name.
NOTE: requires additional input on next line.
FORMAT: (A72)

STATION INFO
Additional station information file names.
NOTE: requires additional input on next line.
The identifier is followed by a file name.
FORMAT: (A)

TIME FOR APRIORI VALUES
Occasionally, the coordinates for a site change, when the reference frame is updated, for example. pages searches the site information for the appropriate coordinates for the date the data were taken. This identifier limits the search effectively forcing sites to have consistent coordinates through all processing. This is essential for long term projects.
NOTE: requires additional input on next line.
The identifier is followed by a date.
FORMAT: one of the following:
  • year month day hour minute second
  • year day-of-year hour minute second
  • year month day
  • year day-of-year
  • modified Julian date

TOLERANCE
The tolerance to singularities. LS matrix rows with Googe numbers smaller than this value will be designated singular and set to zero. When the tolerance is not specified in this manner the value 1.0d-5 will be used as a default.
NOTE: requires a value on next line.
UNITS: dimensionless
FORMAT: (E10.3)

TROPO CONSTR
Constrains tropo estimate.
NOTE: requires additional input on next line.
The identifier is followed by the variance to be applied.
UNITS: (meters)squared
FORMAT: (13X, E16.8)

TURN OFF AVG. SITE X
Turns off the constraint on the average X coordinate for the sites selected in identifier AVG. SITE CONST.

TURN OFF AVG. SITE Y
Turns off the constraint on the average Y coordinate for the sites selected in identifier AVG. SITE CONST.

TURN OFF AVG. SITE Z
Turns off the constraint on the average Z coordinate for the sites selected in identifier AVG. SITE CONST.

USE PHASE PATTERN OFFSETS
The IGS format antenna phase correction file contains the appropriate offsets from the antenna reference point to the L1 and L2 phase centers. This identifier forces pages to use this information. This is the default action of the program.
Alternatively, there is another constraint identifier which will override this default action. This identifier is given as:

DO NOT USE PHASE PATTERN OFFSETS This identifier forces pages to ignore the information in the IGS format antenna phase correction file regarding the offsets from the antenna reference point to the L1 and L2 phase centers.

WRITE NORMAL MATRIX
Causes pages to create the normal matrix output file named pag4.nrm. Several of these files for different data sets can then be joined into a combined adjustment of the global parameters using the program gpscom.

WRITE SINEX FILE
Causes pages to create the SINEX output file named pages.snx.
NOTE: requires additional input on subsequent lines.
This identifier requires the following information, one entry per line, in this exact order:
DESCRIPTION
description of the processing which produced this SINEX file;
OUTPUT
organization creating this file;
CONTACT
email address of person to contact with questions regarding this processing;
SOFTWARE
program name;
HARDWARE
system/hardware description;
INPUT
data source.

FORMAT: (A16, A)

XYZ ROTATION ABOUT CENTROID
Modifies the constraint for average rotation of the network, by forcing the constraint to be defined with respect to the centroid of the sites in the constraint rather than the origin of the coordinate system.


Sample pages.skl File



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skl.html
March 2, 1998
Steve Hilla