<sect1><title>Introduction</title>

<para>
Time series analysis of discrete signals is not a new concept. Texts on this topic were printed as early as 1924. It was
not, however, until the digital computer appeared, in the latter half of the 20th century, that momentum in this field 
increased dramatically. The FORTRAN programming
language has enabled complex mathematics to be written on a computer. Many routines and texts appeared around
this time. The focus of these applications was in the areas of oil and space exploration, further significant texts emerged from
Australia in the nineteen sixties and seventies on Fourier analysis of time series and its applications.
</para>

<para>
Published works such as Numerical Recipes emerged, firstly in FORTRAN, then C and C++. This is accepted as
the standard reference today for Numerical Analysis algorithms, covering least squares analysis, interpolation,
statistics and frequency analysis techniques. Time Series View (TSVIEW) is a more recent example of a computerised
package dealing time series analysis and was developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It is a front end to 
MATLAB providing time series analysis in the time domain. TSVIEW also provides an intuitive, interactive graphical user interface 
thereby allowing the easy analysis of a given data set.
</para>

<para>
MIT is an institution with significant influence in the area of time
series analysis. It is also home to the GAMIT/GLOBK suite of programs for the analysis
of Global Positioning System (GPS), Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) and Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) data. 
It is worthwhile to take a brief look at the functionality of this suite, paying particular attention to the CVIEW module. 
Its features include the following:

<orderedlist>
<listitem><para>Selecting or spanning a region of points for closer inspection (i.e. zooming).</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>The ability to display, with various symbols, data that is used in the solution. This also involves data that 
does not correctly fit a particular model and is therefore weighted out of the solution.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>The ability to weight and un-weight points.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>The ability to changes the value of any number of points.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Allows the displacement of elementary statistics and regression coefficients.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>The testing of different processing strategies.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>A variable number of display windows, ranging from one to 10.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Quick and flexible use of file pointers.</para></listitem>
</orderedlist>

</para>

<para>
  The geodetic data sets used in this analysis are extensive, covering in the order of ten years of measurements from stations 
  around the globe. The GPS, VLBI, and SLR data are susceptible to various conditions, potentially affecting the validity of the data. 
  Some of these conditions include:-
   <itemizedlist>
     <listitem><para>Ionospheric delay.</para></listitem>
     <listitem><para>Temperature fluctuations.</para></listitem>
     <listitem><para>Other considerations including projected satellite orbits.</para></listitem>
   </itemizedlist>
  With the ability to model certain situations, taking into consideration factors such as those above, conclusions can be drawn 
  regarding, among other things, tectonic plate movement, the level of continental drift and weather conditions.  
  
</para>

<para>
  
  Whilst both TSVIEW and CVIEW are useful tools for analysis of this type of data, they are not without their short comings. MATLAB
  is expensive to purchase, and this has prohibited some institutions from being able to use the TSVIEW package
  which requires this program to run. In addition, TSVIEW uses the MATLAB algorithms to calculate its data transformations and whilst
  this guarantees that all mathematical functionality has been rigorously tested and validated, these routines are not specifically
  optimised for the analysis of geodetic data. Similarly, the CVIEW package is not without its problems. Although it is faster than
  TSVIEW in calculating a solution this package has grown as a set of individual modules that have been added over time, and the whole
  system is preserved inside X Windows wrappers. This has had the effect of making the package itself almost impossible to maintain 
  in recent times. CVIEW also suffers from the problem that its user interface is dated and is not considered particularly user
  friendly. This has meant that there is a steep leaning curve required for any user that may wish to use this product. One of the
  most important limitations of both these packages is, however, that they both lack any support for frequency domain analysis which
  is imperative for the analysis of geodetic data.
</para> 

<para>
  Consequently, the final year project developed by Daniel Fernandez, Michael Still, Blake Swadling, Kristy Van Der Vlist and Nick
  Wheatstone known as The Geodetic Data Modelling System (<command>GDMS</command>) was created for the specific purpose of remedying
  the short falls of the existing geodetic data analysis applications. This system aims to provide and expand upon the features
  included in both TSVIEW and CVIEW. The <command>GDMS</command>  provides time domain analysis in the form of Linear Least Squares Regression
  modelling. In addition, several interpolation and Gaussian filter (windowing) algorithms have been
  implemented, thereby allowing the data to be transformed into the frequency domain for analysis with such tools as Fast Fourier
  Transforms (FFT) and Power Spectral Density Plots (PSD). By allowing analysis in both the time and frequency domains the 
  <command>GDMS</command>
  gives the user greater flexibility in determining the general data trend as well as the ability to detect and remove any 
  erroneous data points that may appear in the given data set. The <command>GDMS</command> also provides an intuitive user 
  interface capable of, among other things graphing, spanning and display multiple windows.
</para>

<para>
  This thesis aims to provide a comprehensive insight in the theory behind the processing techniques
  that have been employed in the <command>GDMS</command>. Where appropriate alternative theories and algorithms are presented and 
  compared. The design methodology used in the implementation is discussed, along with the the prototype and
  each specific algorithm with reasons for why they were chosen. Issues that arose throughout this process are also highlighted,
  ranging from design changes during the project, to difficulties with the implementation of various algorithms.
  In each section, we examine the potential improvements and enhancements that could be made to the
  various modules. A background on the testing approach is provided. As projects increase in size, standardised testing 
  procedures becomes paramount. Here we detail the approach used for the testing of the various modules of the project. This paper 
  closes by providing among other things, what we believe to be a measure of the success of the project, both in terms of the 
  project itself and also in terms of our enhanced knowledge and experience that resulted from undertaking this task. 
</para>

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