A local-ether model of wave propagation complying with the Sagnac correction in the global positioning system

To comply with the Sagnac pseudorange correction in the GPS (global positioning system), the local-ether model of wave propagation is proposed. In this model, it is postulated that electromagnetic wave propagates via the ether. However, the ether is not universal. It is supposed that the region under substantial influence of the gravity due to the Earth or another celestial body forms a local ether. Each individual local ether tends to move with the associated celestial body. The Earth local ether is stationary in the Earth-centered inertial (ECI) frame. Within each local ether, the electromagnetic wave propagates at the speed of light c with respect to the respective local-ether frame, independent of the motion of the source and the receiver. It is pointed out that this new classical model is in accord with various propagation phenomena of electromagnetic wave, including the GPS pseudorange correction, the interplanetary radar echo delay, and the earthbound and the interplanetary Doppler shift. One exception is that the proposed local-ether model predicts a quite small but nonnull effect of the Earth´s rotation in the Michelson-Morley experiment.