Vertical displacements are traditionally measured with precise levelling, which is inherently time consuming. Rapid or even real-time height determination can be achieved by the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). Nevertheless, the accuracy of real-time GNSS positioning is limited, and the deployment of a network of continuously operating GNSS receivers is not cost effective unless low-cost GNSS receivers are considered. In this study, we examined the use of geodetic-grade and low-cost GNSS receivers for static and real-time GNSS levelling, respectively. The results of static GNSS levelling were processed in four different software programs or services. The largest differences for ellipsoidal/normal heights reached 0.054 m/0.055 m, 0.046 m/0.047 m, and 0.058 m/0.058 m for points WRO1, BM_ROOF, and BM_CP, respectively. In addition, the values depended on the software used and the location of the point. However, the multistage experiment was designed to analyze various strategies for GNSS data processing and to define a method for detecting vertical displacement in a time series of receiver coordinates. The developed method combined time differentiation of coordinates estimated for a single GNSS receiver using the Precise Point Positioning (PPP) technique and Butterworth filtering. It demonstrated the capability of real-time detection of six out of eight displacements in the range between 20 and 55 mm at the three-sigma level. The study showed the potential of low-cost GNSS receivers for real-time displacement detection, thereby suggesting their applicability to structural health monitoring, positioning, or early warning systems.

Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSSs) are one of the techniques that can be used for the deformation monitoring caused by earthquakes. GNSSs enable the monitoring of specific areas affected by earthquakes in real-time and post-processing modes. This paper provides a novel method for the short-term displacement detection based on the phase residuals of GNSS observations. The study examines a natural earthquake from October 26, 2016, in Italy with Mw 6.1. In the proposed methodology, the residuals of the GNSS phase observations are derived using Precise Point Positioning. Then, residuals are transformed to the frequency domain using a wavelet transform, and the earthquake moment is identified using the anomalies detected in the scalogram, which do not appear in stable conditions. The described methodology allows for detecting the starting and ending moments of the earthquake. The methods described detected that the moment of the earthquake is visible in the residues 8 seconds after the seismic catalog time. The conducted experiments show that the use of signal analysis tools allows it to properly detect the ground vibrations in the residuals of GNSS phase observations and thus confirms the registration of ground vibrations in satellite observation data recorded by a GNSS receiver.