This report overviews the status and development of the Asia Pacific Reference Frame (APREF) project, which is a major activity of the Geodetic Reference Framework for Sustainable Development Working Group of the United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management for Asia and the Pacific (UN-GGIM-AP), and the Reference Frame Sub-Commission 1.3e (SC1.3e) of the International Association of Geodesy (IAG). In this work, the APREF Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS) network is reviewed. This is followed by an overview of the analysis methodology and strategy adopted for processing of data from the network. Coordinate time series, velocities as well as other parameters are generated for 450 CORS sites across the Asia-Pacific region and 200 International GNSS Service (IGS) core stations located around the world. An accuracy assessment of the output and products, including the estimated position and velocity field is presented. The position solutions have an internal accuracy of 1-4 mm and 4-8 mm in horizontal and vertical components, respectively, determined from position repeatability of the weekly solutions. When compared with the published IGS14 velocities for the 173 common sites, the velocity solutions have an external accuracy of 0.02 ± 0.29 mm/yr, 0.01 ± 0.32 mm/yr, and 0.08 ± 0.54 mm/yr for north, east and vertical components, respectively. Products of the APREF Project include the daily and weekly solutions, combined weekly solutions, position time series of long-term solutions, coordinates and velocity field of the CORS network in ITRF2014.

As the Central Bureau for the Asia Pacific Reference Frame (APREF), Geoscience Australia were keen to transition to the most up-to-date realisation of a trusted global reference frame from the IGS, being IGS20. However, following adoption of ITRF2020/IGS20 there were apparent site-specific, centimetre-level coordinate inconsistencies between ITRF2020/IGS20 and ITRF2014/IGb14, concerningly presenting as an inconsistent height offset across the APREF network. The Asia-Pacific Reference Frame (APREF) is a network consisting of more than 1000 stations across the Asia-Pacific region, including ~700 Australian stations as well as global IGS core stations. For our routine analysis of the network, we process GPS-only double-difference observations in network mode and align them to the global reference frame of choice, using the Bernese software. We process daily solutions, and then stack them to generate weekly solutions. We then take these coordinates and apply the Australian Plate Motion Model to acquire GDA2020 coordinates, which is a plate-fixed national datum used widely across Australia, including to calculate the legally traceable coordinates we provide to station owners and operators. Taking the latest available products (satellite clock and orbit files, and antenna models) from the IGS, APREF (weekly) solutions are aligned to the IGS20 reference system (where IGS20 is the IGS realisation of ITRF2020), however, we found station-specific offsets of our APREF solutions between the ITRF2014/IGb14 and ITRF2020/IG2S0 due to updates in the ground antenna calibration values from igs14.atx to igs20.atx that reached up to 3 cm. Some of the antenna calibration values were updated post-release of ITRF2020 (updates between igsR3.atx and igs20.atx), which results in further inconsistencies at the coordinate level between the APREF solutions and ITRF2020 solutions. This presentation will discuss the challenges faced when implementing a new global frame of reference at the regional level and the impact on downstream users. We commend the IGS for their efforts in providing high quality, openly available products and services and would like to prompt conversation about the consideration of user requirements for the development of downstream products (such as regional reference frames). Abstract to be submitted to/presented at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting 2023 (AGU23) - https://www.agu.org/fall-meeting