Mission design,operation and exploitation of the gravity field and steady-state ocean circulation explorer mission

The European Space Agency’s Gravity field and steady-state ocean circulation explorer mission (GOCE) was launched on 17 March 2009. As the first of the Earth Explorer family of satellites within the Agency’s Living Planet Programme, it is aiming at a better understanding of the Earth system. The mission objective of GOCE is the determination of the Earth’s gravity field and geoid with high accuracy and maximum spatial resolution. The geoid, combined with the de facto mean ocean surface derived from twenty-odd years of satellite radar altimetry, yields the global dynamic ocean topography. It serves ocean circulation and ocean transport studies and sea level research. GOCE geoid heights allow the conversion of global positioning system (GPS) heights to high precision heights above sea level. Gravity anomalies and also gravity gradients from GOCE are used for gravity-to-density inversion and in particular for studies of the Earth’s lithosphere and upper mantle. GOCE is the first-ever satellite to carry a gravitational gradiometer, and in order to achieve its challenging mission objectives the satellite embarks a number of world-first technologies. In essence the spacecraft together with its sensors can be regarded as a spaceborne gravimeter. In this work, we describe the mission and the way it is operated and exploited in order to make available the best-possible measurements of the Earth gravity field. The main lessons learned from the first 19 months in orbit are also provided, in as far as they affect the quality of the science data products and therefore are of specific interest for GOCE data users.     

On the spectral consistency of the altimetric ocean and geoid surface: a one-dimensional example

Geoid models from the new generation of satellite gravity missions, such as GRACE and GOCE, in combination with sea surface from satellite altimetry allow to obtain absolute dynamic ocean topography with rather high spatial resolution and accuracy. However, this implies combination of data with fundamentally different characteristics and different spatial resolutions. Spectral consistency would imply the removal of the short-scale features of the altimetric sea surface height by filtering, to provide altimetric data consistent with the resolution of the geoid field. The goal must be to lose as little as possible from the high precision of the altimetric signal. Using a one-dimensional example we show how the spectrum is changing when a function defined only on a limited domain (ocean in the real case) is extended or not as to cover the complete domain (the whole sphere in the real case). The results depend on the spectral characteristics of the altimetric signal and of the applied filter. Referring to the periodicity condition, as it is requested in the case of Fourier analysis, the action of the two classical filters (Ideal Low Pass and Gauss filter) and of two alternative procedures (wavelets and Slepian) is studied.     

The height datum problem and the role of satellite gravity models

Regional height systems do not refer to a common equipotential surface, such as the geoid. They are usually referred to the mean sea level at a reference tide gauge. As mean sea level varies (by ±1 to 2 m) from place to place and from continent to continent each tide gauge has an unknown bias with respect to a common reference surface, whose determination is what the height datum problem is concerned with. This paper deals with this problem, in connection to the availability of satellite gravity missions data. Since biased heights enter into the computation of terrestrial gravity anomalies, which in turn are used for geoid determination, the biases enter as secondary or indirect effect also in such a geoid model. In contrast to terrestrial gravity anomalies, gravity and geoid models derived from satellite gravity missions, and in particular GRACE and GOCE, do not suffer from those inconsistencies. Those models can be regarded as unbiased. After a review of the mathematical formulation of the problem, the paper examines two alternative approaches to its solution. The first one compares the gravity potential coefficients in the range of degrees from 100 to 200 of an unbiased gravity field from GOCE with those of the combined model EGM2008, that in this range is affected by the height biases. This first proposal yields a solution too inaccurate to be useful. The second approach compares height anomalies derived from GNSS ellipsoidal heights and biased normal heights, with anomalies derived from an anomalous potential which combines a satellite-only model up to degree 200 and a high-resolution global model above 200. The point is to show that in this last combination the indirect effects of the height biases are negligible. To this aim, an error budget analysis is performed. The biases of the high frequency part are proved to be irrelevant, so that an accuracy of 5 cm per individual GNSS station is found. This seems to be a promising practical method to solve the problem.     

海洋重力似大地水准面与区域测高似大地水准面的拟合问题

研究了将陆地重力似大地水准面与GPS水；住似大地水准面拟合的处理方法推广到海洋的问题．首先从理论上证明了当存在海面地形．则海洋大地水准面与似大地水准面不重合．导出了在海洋上大地水；住面差距与高程异常之间差值的公式．由此给出了求定平均海面相对于区域高程基准的正常高以及测高似大地水准面的计算公式。由于测高平均海面与GPS大地高有相近的精度．提出了将海洋重力似大地水准面与区域测高似大地水准面拟合的处理方法．并利用当前最新的海面地形模型和测高平均海面模型做了数值估计。     

Regional geoid of the Weddell Sea,Antarctica, from heterogeneous ground-based gravity data

We present a geoid solution for the Weddell Sea and adjacent continental Antarctic regions. There, a refined geoid is of interest, especially for oceanographic and glaciological applications. For example, to investigate the Weddell Gyre as a part of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and, thus, of the global ocean circulation, the mean dynamic topography (MDT) is needed. These days, the marine gravity field can be inferred with high and homogeneous resolution from altimetric height profiles of the mean sea surface. However, in areas permanently covered by sea ice as well as in coastal regions, satellite altimetry features deficiencies. Focussing on the Weddell Sea, these aspects are investigated in detail. In these areas, ground-based data that have not been used for geoid computation so far provide additional information in comparison with the existing high-resolution global gravity field models such as EGM2008. The geoid computation is based on the remove–compute–restore approach making use of least-squares collocation. The residual geoid with respect to a release 4 GOCE model adds up to two meters and more in the near-coastal and continental areas of the Weddell Sea region, also in comparison with EGM2008. Consequently, the thus refined geoid serves to compute new estimates of the regional MDT and geostrophic currents.     

Analysis of some systematic errors affecting altimeter-derived sea surface gradient with application to geoid determination over Taiwan

This paper analyzes several systematic errors affecting sea surface gradients derived from Seasat, Geosat/ERM, Geosat/GM, ERS-1/35d, ERS-1/GM and TOPEX/POSEIDON altimetry. Considering the data noises, the conclusion is: (1) only Seasat needs to correct for the non-geocentricity induced error, (2) only Seasat and Geosat/GM need to correct for the one cycle per revolution error, (3) only Seasat, ERS-1/GM and Geosat/GM need to correct for the tide model error; over shallow waters it is suggested to use a local tide model not solely from altimetry. The effects of the sea surface topography on gravity and geoid computations from altimetry are significant over areas with major oceanographic phenomena. In conclusion, sea surface gradient is a better data type than sea surface height. Sea surface gradients from altimetry, land gravity anomalies, ship gravity anomalies and elevation data were then used to calculate the geoid over Taiwan by least-squares collocation. The inclusion of sea surface gradients improves the geoid prediction by 27% when comparing the GPS-derived and the predicted geoidal heights, and by 30% when comparing the observed and the geoid-derived deflections of the vertical. The predicted geoid along coastal areas is accurate to 2 cm and can help GPS to do the third-order leveling. Received 22 January 1996; Accepted 13 September 1996     

Gravity-field improvement in the Mediterranean Sea by estimating the bottom topography using collocation

The contribution of bathymetry to the prediction of quantities related to the gravity field (e.g., gravity anomalies, geoid heights) is discussed in an extended test area of the central Mediterranean Sea. Sea gravity anomalies and a priori statistical characteristics of depths are used in a least-squares collocation procedure in order to produce new depths, giving a better smoothing of the gravity field when using a remove-restore procedure. The effect of the bottom topography on gravity-field modeling is studied using both the original and the new depths through a residual terrain modeling reduction. The numerical tests show a considerable smoothing of the sea gravity anomalies and the available altimeter heights when the new depth information is taken into account according to the covariance analysis performed. Moreover, geoid heights are computed by combining the sea gravity anomalies either with the original depths or with the new ones, using as a reference surface the OSU91A geopotential model. Comparing the computed geoid heights with adjusted altimeter sea-surface heights (SSHs), better results are obtained when subtracting the attraction of the new depth information. Similar results are obtained when predicting gravity anomalies from altimeter SSHs where the terrain effect on altimetry is based on the new bottom topography. Received: 10 September 1996 / Accepted: 4 August 1997     

海洋重力场特征统计模型计算与分析

海洋重力场特征参数在地球重力场逼近计算和海上测量优化设计中具有重要的应用价值。基于卫星测高重力在海域具有覆盖范围广且分布均匀的独特优势，提出了利用最新卫星测高重力数据集开展海洋重力场特征统计模型计算和分析的研究方案，给出了代表误差和协方差函数模型参数的计算公式，定义并研究了海洋广义布格重力异常的变化特征，提出了等精度和非等精度拟合经验协方差函数的计算模型。利用中国近海及西太平洋海区超过50万个5'×5'方块的1'×1'网格卫星测高重力异常数据，首次计算得到一组有代表性的中国周边海域重力场特征统计模型参数，较好地揭示了海洋重力场有别于陆地重力场的变化特征，利用海面船测重力数据对计算结果进行了可靠性检核，提出了相应的模型参数修正方案和使用建议。     

卫星测高与船载重力测量数据融合的点质量拟合法

以拟合方差最小为准则,通过点质量法拟合船载重力测量数据,得到点质量大小、埋深等参数。回避点质量法数值求解的不稳定性问题,借鉴移去-恢复技术的思路,利用该参数计算船载重力测量点上的重力异常,并将其在测线上的重力异常中扣除,计算出船载重力残差值。以点质量大小、埋深等参数计算卫星测高重力格网点上重力异常,同样得到测高重力残差值。采用加权最小曲率格网化方法,将船载重力残差值与测高重力残差值格网化,进而恢复由点质量大小、埋深等参数计算格网点处的重力异常,实现卫星测高与船载重力测量数据融合。经国际船载重力测量数据检核,融合后的模型较国际船载重力测量数据的平均偏差在1~2 mGal（1 Gal=1×10^-2 m/s²）,标准差约为4 mGal。本文的研究方法可为陆地、海岸带区域的多种重力数据的融合、航空重力及卫星重力的向下延拓等问题提供参考。     

Validation of GOCE gravity field models by means of orbit residuals and geoid comparisons

Three GOCE-based gravity field solutions have been computed by ESA’s high-level processing facility and were released to the user community. All models are accompanied by variance-covariance information resulting either from the least squares procedure or a Monte-Carlo approach. In order to obtain independent external quality parameters and to assess the current performance of these models, a set of independent tests based on satellite orbit determination and geoid comparisons is applied. Both test methods can be regarded as complementary because they either investigate the performance in the long wavelength spectral domain (orbit determination) or in the spatial domain (geoid comparisons). The test procedure was applied to the three GOCE gravity field solutions and to a number of selected pre-launch models for comparison. Orbit determination results suggest, that a pure GOCE gravity field model does not outperform the multi-year GRACE gravity field solutions. This was expected as GOCE is designed to improve the determination of the medium to high frequencies of the Earth gravity field (in the range of degree and order 50 to 200). Nevertheless, in case of an optimal combination of GOCE and GRACE data, orbit determination results should not deteriorate. So this validation procedure can also be used for testing the optimality of the approach adopted for producing combined GOCE and GRACE models. Results from geoid comparisons indicate that with the 2 months of GOCE data a significant improvement in the determination of the spherical harmonic spectrum of the global gravity field between degree 50 and 200 can be reached. Even though the ultimate mission goal has not yet been reached, especially due to the limited time span of used GOCE data (only 2 months), it was found that existing satellite-only gravity field models, which are based on 7 years of GRACE data, can already be enhanced in terms of spatial resolution. It is expected that with the accumulation of more GOCE data the gravity field model resolution and quality can be further enhanced, and the GOCE mission goal of 1–2 cm geoid accuracy with 100 km spatial resolution can be achieved.     

A comparison of Stokes' numerical integration and collocation,and a new combination technique

Summary Basically two different evaluation methods are available to compute geoid heights from residual gravity anomalies in the inner zone: numerical integration and least squares collocation.If collocation is not applied to a global gravity data set, as is usually the case in practice, its result will not be equal to the numerical integration result. However, the cross covariance function between geoid heights and gravity anomalies can be adapted such that the geoid contribution is computed only from a small gravity area up to a certain distance _o from the computation point. Using this modification, identical results are obtained as from numerical integration.Applying this modification makes the results less dependent on the covariance function used. The difference between numerical integration and collocation is mainly caused by the implicitly extrapolated residual gravity anomaly values, outside the original data area. This extrapolated signal depends very much on the covariance function used, while the interpolated values within the original data area depend much less on it.As a sort of by-product, this modified collocation formula also leads to a new combination technique of numerical integration and collocation, in which the optimizing practical properties of both methods are fully exploited.Numerical examples are added as illustration.     

卫星测高与卫星重力对洋流的研究

卫星测高与卫星重力的发展为进一步研究洋流提供了前所未有的机遇。本文从EGM 96 ,GGM0 1与未来的GOCE任务获取的高精度高分辨率海洋大地水准面的角度对洋流的研究方法与可行性进行了分析     

The GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam/Groupe de Recherche de Gèodésie Spatiale satellite-only and combined gravity field models: EIGEN-GL04S1 and EIGEN-GL04C

The recent improvements in the Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment (GRACE) tracking data processing at GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam (GFZ) and Groupe de Recherche de Géodésie Spatiale (GRGS) Toulouse, the availability of newer surface gravity data sets in the Arctic, Antarctica and North-America, and the availability of a new mean sea surface height model from altimetry processing at GFZ gave rise to the generation of two new global gravity field models. The first, EIGEN-GL04S1, a satellite-only model complete to degree and order 150 in terms of spherical harmonics, was derived by combination of the latest GFZ Potsdam GRACE-only (EIGEN-GRACE04S) and GRGS Toulouse GRACE/LAGEOS (EIGEN-GL04S) mean field solutions. The second, EIGEN-GL04S1 was combined with surface gravity data from altimetry over the oceans and gravimetry over the continents to derive a new high-resolution global gravity field model called EIGEN-GL04C. This model is complete to degree and order 360 and thus resolves geoid and gravity anomalies at half- wavelengths of 55 km at the equator. A degree-dependent combination method has been applied in order to preserve the high accuracy from the GRACE satellite data in the lower frequency band of the geopotential and to form a smooth transition to the high-frequency information coming from the surface data. Compared to pre-CHAMP global high-resolution models, the accuracy was improved at a spatial resolution of 200 km (half-wavelength) by one order of magnitude to 3 cm in terms of geoid heights. The accuracy of this model (i.e. the commission error) at its full spatial resolution is estimated to be 15 cm. The model shows a reduced artificial meridional striping and an increased correlation of EIGEN-GL04C-derived geostrophic meridional currents with World Ocean Atlas 2001 (WOA01) data. These improvements have led to select EIGEN-GL04C for JASON-1 satellite altimeter data reprocessing. Electronic Supplementary Material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

利用大地边值问题方法统一全球高程基准

为解决世界各国高程基准差异的问题,提出联合卫星重力场模型、地面重力数据、GNSS大地高、局部高程基准的正高或正常高,按大地边值问题法确定局部高程基准重力位差的方法。首先推导了利用传统地面"有偏"重力异常确定高程基准重力位差的方法;接着利用改化Stokes核函数削弱"有偏"重力异常的影响,并联合卫星重力场模型和地面"有偏"重力数据,得到独立于任何局部高程基准的重力水准面,以此来确定局部高程基准重力位差;最后利用GNSS+水准数据和重力大地水准面确定了美国高程基准与全球高程基准W₀的重力位差为-4.82±0.05 m²s^-2。     

GOCE地球重力场模型在青藏地区的评价及分析

2009年GOCE卫星升空以后,卫星重力梯度数据参与解算的GOCE系列重力场模型已有多家研究机构相继公布。本文分别采用青藏地区的GPS/水准和重力异常实测数据对GOCE重力场模型进行了外部测试,并在重力异常验证过程中引入了一种新的滤波方法,验证结果表明在青藏地区GOCE重力场模型相比其它系列模型的优势在于中波段。同时,探讨了GOCE重力场模型与其他系列模型在青藏地区主要差异值的空间分布以及首次利用统计分析方法找出模型之间主要差异值的阶次分布,得出如下结论：模型之间的较大差异值在空间水平方向上主要分布在喜马拉雅山脉、天山等地形起伏较大的区域,在垂直方向上主要集中在岩石圈。     

Relation between geoidal undulation, deflection of the vertical and vertical gravity gradient revisited

The vertical gradients of gravity anomaly and gravity disturbance can be related to horizontal first derivatives of deflection of the vertical or second derivatives of geoidal undulations. These are simplified relations of which different variations have found application in satellite altimetry with the implicit assumption that the neglected terms—using remove-restore—are sufficiently small. In this paper, the different simplified relations are rigorously connected and the neglected terms are made explicit. The main neglected terms are a curvilinear term that accounts for the difference between second derivatives in a Cartesian system and on a spherical surface, and a small circle term that stems from the difference between second derivatives on a great and small circle. The neglected terms were compared with the dynamic ocean topography (DOT) and the requirements on the GOCE gravity gradients. In addition, the signal root-mean-square (RMS) of the neglected terms and vertical gravity gradient were compared, and the effect of a remove-restore procedure was studied. These analyses show that both neglected terms have the same order of magnitude as the DOT gradient signal and may be above the GOCE requirements, and should be accounted for when combining altimetry derived and GOCE measured gradients. The signal RMS of both neglected terms is in general small when compared with the signal RMS of the vertical gravity gradient, but they may introduce gradient errors above the spherical approximation error. Remove-restore with gravity field models reduces the errors in the vertical gravity gradient, but it appears that errors above the spherical approximation error cannot be avoided at individual locations. When computing the vertical gradient of gravity anomaly from satellite altimeter data using deflections of the vertical, the small circle term is readily available and can be included. The direct computation of the vertical gradient of gravity disturbance from satellite altimeter data is more difficult than the computation of the vertical gradient of gravity anomaly because in the former case the curvilinear term is needed, which is not readily available.     

利用卫星测高资料推求西北太平洋海域的海洋大地水准面

本文根据卫星测高数据和海面动力地形资料，绘制了不相上下北太平洋海域局部大地水准面的精细结构图，对解决卫星测高技术中大地水准面积和海面地形的可分性问题作了初步尝试。     

First GOCE gravity field models derived by three different approaches

Three gravity field models, parameterized in terms of spherical harmonic coefficients, have been computed from 71 days of GOCE (Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer) orbit and gradiometer data by applying independent gravity field processing methods. These gravity models are one major output of the European Space Agency (ESA) project GOCE High-level Processing Facility (HPF). The processing philosophies and architectures of these three complementary methods are presented and discussed, emphasizing the specific features of the three approaches. The resulting GOCE gravity field models, representing the first models containing the novel measurement type of gravity gradiometry ever computed, are analysed and assessed in detail. Together with the coefficient estimates, full variance-covariance matrices provide error information about the coefficient solutions. A comparison with state-of-the-art GRACE and combined gravity field models reveals the additional contribution of GOCE based on only 71 days of data. Compared with combined gravity field models, large deviations appear in regions where the terrestrial gravity data are known to be of low accuracy. The GOCE performance, assessed against the GRACE-only model ITG-Grace2010s, becomes superior at degree 150, and beyond. GOCE provides significant additional information of the global Earth gravity field, with an accuracy of the 2-month GOCE gravity field models of 10?cm in terms of geoid heights, and 3?mGal in terms of gravity anomalies, globally at a resolution of 100?km (degree/order 200).     

海洋卫星测高及其反演全球海洋重力场和海底地形模型研究进展

海洋卫星测高在全球和区域大地水准面建模、全球海洋重力场反演、海底地形探测、海平面变化监测、构造板块运动研究等大地测量领域至关重要。本文概述了海洋微波测高卫星的简要发展历程,重点梳理了卫星测高在全球海洋重力场和全球海底地形建模方面取得的丰硕成果,对比分析了主流的海洋重力场和海底地形模型;介绍了合成孔径雷达高度计、Ka频段雷达高度计、合成孔径雷达干涉仪3种先进微波测高技术,并分析了其各自的优缺点,表明它们将在未来若干年呈并驱发展趋势;较为系统地阐述了海洋卫星测高的另一新型技术,即GNSS反射信号测量技术的研究动态,给出了GNSS-R(GNSS reflectometry)类(试验)卫星的发展脉络和发展前景。卫星测高的发展趋势之一是多颗测高卫星的组网观测,本文概括了曾经提出的和拟议中的若干组网测高计划,扼要介绍了由我国提出并正在实施的双星跟飞测高模式;最后指出了卫星测高发展的几个主要关注点,包括双星跟飞测高和SWOT(surface water ocean topography)任务的2维海面高(差)测量、卫星测高反演海底地形与高级地形激光高度计观测数据及遥感卫星图像的结合、星载GNSS-R厘米级海面高的载波相位测量、人工智能技术在卫星测高中的潜在应用等。     

EGM96,WDM94和GPM98CR高阶地球重力场模型表示深圳局部重力场的比较与评价

为计算深圳精密重力大地水准面，利用62个高精度GPS水准点和4871个实测重力点数据对EGM96，WDM94和GPM98CR全球重力场模型表示深圳局部重力场进行了比较与评价。结果表明，由上述3个重力场模型计算的大地水准面高和重力异常与实测值之间存在明显的系统偏差，当采用GPS水准数据尽可能消除系统偏差以后，大地水准面高的精度得到显著提高，若应用移去-恢复技术确定深圳高精度大地水准面，则WDM94应该是首选的参考重力场模型。