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Six RENAG-certified low-cost GNSS stations deployed by the community

4 Nov 2024

The work carried out at the Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur over the last few years has borne fruit, enabling measurements acquired using low-cost equipment to be validated and valorized. Several prototype phases have been deployed to date, notably as part of the ANR S5 project in Peru, or on ships as part of the ANR ITEC and Amorgos projects.

Work carried out at the Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur over the last few years has borne fruit, enabling the validation and valorization of measurements acquired using low-cost equipment (around €1.5k per station). Several prototype series have been deployed to date, notably in Peru as part of the S5 project of the French National Research Agency (ANR), and on ships as part of the ANR Itec and Amorgos projects.

In 2024, Rénag financed the purchase of 6 complete hardened stations (equipped with protection) with the dual aim of helping the community to densify networks and testing the equipment in hostile environments and for a variety of applications (continuous positioning, campaign positioning, hydrology, etc.).

Following a call for applications, the RENAG office validated 6 instrumental projects:

  • A “standard” receiver connected to the antenna of the permanent CGRO00FRA station by Geoazur.
  • A “campaign” station will be integrated into the GPSmob park,
  • A “glacial” station will be installed on a glacier in Greenland by the IGE as part of the Reassess project (Funding: European Research Council – ERC) “Probing and predicting the dynamic response of the Greenland ice sheet to surface meltwater”.
  • A “tropical” station will be installed at the Djibouti Geophysical Observatory by IPGP.
  • A “slippery” station will be installed on the Avignonet landslide by OSUG.
  • A “wet” station will be installed on a karstic network by OSU Theta as part of the Jurassic Karst project.

These devices will be deployed for varying lengths of time, from a campaign lasting a few weeks to several years of operation. We hope that this experience will lead to a better understanding of this new type of equipment, and its optimal use for scientific purposes.

In order to meet the growing demand for these low-cost stations (~1.5 K€), we plan to work with private partners to bring them to market.