Comparison of global geopotential models from the champ and grace missions for regional geoid modelling in Turkey

The continuous efforts on establishment and modernization of the geodetic control in Turkey include a number of regional geoid models that have been determined since 1976. The recently released gravimetric Geoid of Turkey, TG03, is used in geodetic applications where GPS-heights need to be converted to the local vertical datum. To reach a regional geoid model with improved accuracy, the selection of the appropriate global geopotential model is of primary importance. This study assesses the performance of a number of recent satellite-only and combined global geopotential models (GGMs) derived from CHAMP and GRACE missions’ data in comparison to the older EGM96 model, which is the underlying reference model for TG03. In this respect, gravity anomalies and geoid heights from the global geopotential models were compared with terrestrial gravity data and low-pass filtered GPS/levelling data, respectively. Also, five new gravimetric geoid models, computed by the Fast Fourier Transform technique using terrestrial gravity data and the geopotential models, were validated at the GPS/levelling benchmarks. The findings were also compared with the validation results of the TG03 model. The tests showed that as it was expected any of the high-degree combined models (EIGEN-CG03C, EIGEN-GL04C, EGM96) can be employed for determining the gravity anomalies over Turkey. In the west of Turkey, EGM96 and EIGEN-CHAMP03S fit the GPS/levelling surface better. However, all the tested GGMs revealed equal performance when they were employed in gravimetric geoid modelling after de-trending the gravimetric geoid model with corrector surface fitting. The new geoid models have improved accuracy (after fit) compared to TG03.     

A precise gravimetric geoid model in a mountainous area with scarce gravity data: a case study in central Turkey

In mountainous regions with scarce gravity data, gravimetric geoid determination is a difficult task that needs special attention to obtain reliable results satisfying the demands, e.g., of engineering applications. The present study investigates a procedure for combining a suitable global geopotential model and available terrestrial data in order to obtain a precise regional geoid model for Konya Closed Basin (KCB). The KCB is located in the central part of Turkey, where a very limited amount of terrestrial gravity data is available. Various data sources, such as the Turkish digital elevation model with 3 ?? × 3?? resolution, a recently published satellite-only global geopotential model from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment satellite (GRACE) and the ground gravity observations, are combined in the least-squares sense by the modified Stokes?? formula. The new gravimetric geoid model is compared with Global Positioning System (GPS)/levelling at the control points, resulting in the Root Mean Square Error (RMS) differences of ±6.4 cm and 1.7 ppm in the absolute and relative senses, respectively. This regional geoid model appears to be more accurate than the Earth Gravitational Model 2008, which is the best global model over the target area, with the RMS differences of ±8.6 cm and 1.8 ppm in the absolute and relative senses, respectively. These results show that the accuracy of a regional gravimetric model can be augmented by the combination of a global geopotential model and local terrestrial data in mountainous areas even though the quality and resolution of the primary terrestrial data are not satisfactory to the geoid modelling procedure.     

Validation of recent geopotential models in Tierra Del Fuego

This work presents a validation study of global geopotential models (GGM) in the region of Fagnano Lake, located in the southern Andes. This is an excellent area for this type of validation because it is surrounded by the Andes Mountains, and there is no terrestrial gravity or GNSS/levelling data. However, there are mean lake level (MLL) observations, and its surface is assumed to be almost equipotential. Furthermore, in this article, we propose improved geoid solutions through the Residual Terrain Modelling (RTM) approach. Using a global geopotential model, the results achieved allow us to conclude that it is possible to use this technique to extend an existing geoid model to those regions that lack any information (neither gravimetric nor GNSS/levelling observations). As GGMs have evolved, our results have improved progressively. While the validation of EGM2008 with MLL data shows a standard deviation of 35 cm, GOCO05C shows a deviation of 13 cm, similar to the results obtained on land.     

Detection of Local Geoid Deformations by Gravity Disturbances from GPS/Gravimetric Observations

This paper deals with a method for detection of local geoid deformations; as a consequence, the methods main application concerns geoid adjustment to GPS/levelling points. This is based on the fact that these points should present no local geoid deformation to avoid errors in the adjustments. These type of miscalculations would lead to an incorrect adjustment and result in further errors in subsequent studies with GPS in the proximity at the point with local deformation.The method proposed is based on predictions of gravity disturbance from geoid undulations using Poisson integral with modified kernel, and its comparison with the gravity disturbance from GPS and gravimetric observations.The use of gravity disturbance instead of gravity anomalies has been chosen since gravity disturbance is a quantity derived from GPS and not from levelling. The loss of accuracy arising with a local height reference system is therefore theoretically avoided as far as the differences in geodetic reference systems regarding positions of gravity measurements and coefficients of the global models are accounted for.Extended numerical tests using computed geoidal undulations and the corresponding gravity disturbances obtained from the geopotential model GPM98cr computed up to degree 720 illustrate the validity of the proposed method and its usefulness as local geoid deformations detection tool.Finally, the method is tested using real GPS/Gravimetric data and geoid models IBERGEO95 and EGG97 with good results.     

Regional gravimetric quasi-geoid model and transformation surface to national height system for Turkey (THG-09)

Turkish regional geoid models have been developed by employing a reference earth gravitational model, surface gravity observations and digital terrain models. The gravimetric geoid models provide a ready transformation from ellipsoidal heights to the orthometric heights through the use of GPS/leveling geoid heights determined through the national geodetic networks. The recent gravimetric models for Turkish territory were computed depending on OSU91 (TG-91) and EGM96 (TG-03) earth gravitational models. The release of the Earth Gravitational Model 2008 (EGM08), the collection of new surface gravity observations, the advanced satellite altimetry-derived gravity over the sea, and the availability of the high resolution digital terrain model have encouraged us to compute a new geoid model for Turkey. We used the Remove-Restore procedure based on EGM08 and applied Residual Terrain Model (RTM) reduction of the surface gravity data. Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT) was then used to obtain the residual quasigeoid from the reduced gravity. We restored the individual contributions of EGM08 and RTM to the whole quasi-geoid height (TQG-09). Since the Helmert orthometric height system is adopted in Turkey, the quasi-geoid model (TQG-09) was then converted to the geoid model (TG-09) by making use of Bouguer gravity anomalies and digital terrain model. After all we combined a gravimetric geoid model with GPS/leveling geoid heights in order to obtain a hybrid geoid model (THG-09) (or a transformation surface) to be used in GPS applications. The RMS of the post-fit residuals after the combination was found to be ± 0.95 cm, which represents the internal precision of the final combination. And finally, we tested the hybrid geoid model with GPS/leveling data, which were not used in the combination, to assess the external accuracy. Results show that the external accuracy of the THG-09 model is ± 8.4 cm, a precision previously not achieved in Turkey until this study.     

Transformation between gravimetric and GPS/levelling-derived geoids using additional gravity information

The transformation from the gravimetric to the GPS/levelling-derived geoid using additional gravity information for the covariance function of geoid height differences has been investigated in a test area in south-western Canada. A “corrector surface” model, which accounts for datum inconsistencies, long-wavelength geoid errors, vertical network distortions and GPS errors, has been constructed using least-squares collocation. The local covariance function of geoid height differences is usually obtained from residual values between the GPS/levelling and gravimetric geoid heights after the elimination of all known systematic distortions. If additional gravity data (in the form of gravity anomalies) are available, the covariance function of geoid height differences can be determined by the following steps: (1) transforming the GPS/levelling-derived geoid heights into gravity anomalies; (2) forming differences between the computed in step 1 and given gravity anomalies; (3) determining the parameters of the local covariance function of the gravity anomaly differences; (4) constructing an analytical covariance model for the geoid height differences from the covariance function of the gravity anomaly differences using the parameters derived in step 3. The advantage of the proposed method stems from the great number of gravity data used to derive the empirical covariance function. A comparison with the least-squares adjustment shows that the standard deviation of the residuals of the predicted geoid height differences with respect to the control point values decreases by 2.4 cm.     

Comparison of the qualities of recent global and local gravimetric geoid models in Iran

A number of regional gravimetric geoid models have recently been determined for the Iran area, and a common problem is to select the best model, e.g. for engineering applications. A related problem is that in order to improve the local geoid models, the selection of the best Global Geopotential Model (GGM) model for the region is essential, to be used in a combined solution from GGM and local gravimetric data. We discuss these problems by taking advantage of 260 GPS/levelling points as an external tool for validation of different global and local geoid models in the absolute and relative senses. By using relative comparisons of the height differences between precise levelling and GPS/geoid models we avoid possible unknown systematic effects between the different types of observables.The study shows that the combination of the newly released GRACE model (GGM02C) with EGM96 geoid model fits the GPS/levelling data in Iran with the best absolute and relative accuracy among the GGMs. Among the local geoid models, the newly gravimetric geoid model IRG04 agrees considerably better with GPS/levelling than any of the other recent local geoid models. Its rms fit with GPS/levelling is 55 cm. Hence, we strongly recommend the use of this new model in any surveying engineering or GPS/levelling projects in the area.     

A Gravimetric Geoid Computation and Comparison with GPS Results in Northern Andalusia (Spain)

Two new GPS surveys have been carried out to check the accuracy of an existing gravimetric geoid in a test area located in northern Andalusia (Spain). The fast collocation method and the remove-restore procedure have been used for the computation of the quasigeoid model. The Spanish height system is based on orthometric heights, so the gravimetrically determined quasigeoid has been transformed to a geoid model and then compared to geoid undulations provided by GPS and levelling at benchmarks belonging to the Spanish first-order levelling network. The discrepancies between the gravimetric solution and GPS/levelling undulations amount to ±2 cm for one survey and ±5 cm for another after fitting a plane to the geoid model.     

Comparing recent geopotential models in Andalusia (Southern Spain)

This work focuses on the comparison between satellite-only and combined Global Geopotential Models (GGMs) derived from the CHAMP and GRACE satellite missions with land gravity anomalies, geoid undulations provided by the gravimetric geoid ANDALUSGeoid2002 and GPS/levelling geoid undulations in Andalusia in order to find the GGM that best fits this area in order to be used in a further geoid computation. The results show that the EIGEN-CG01C model or the combined models GGM02C/EIGEN-CG01C and ITG-CHAMP01E/EIGEN-CG01C should be used.     

Airborne gravimetry using a strapped-down LaCoste and Romberg air/sea gravity meter system: a feasibility study

Marine gravimeters mounted on stabilized platforms are commonly used in aircraft to perform airborne gravity measurements. The role of the stabilized platform is to level the sensor mechanically, whatever the aircraft attitude. However, this compensation is generally insufficient due to the sensitivity of modern gravity sensors. Correcting the offlevel error requires that an offlevel correction calculated from positioning data be added to gravimeter measurements, which complicates not only the processing, but also the assessment of precision and resolution. This paper is a feasibility study describing the levelling of a completely strapped‐down LaCoste and Romberg gravimeter for airborne gravimetry operation, by means of GPS positioning data. It focuses on the calculation of the sensor offlevel correction needed for the complete gravity data processing. The precision of the offlevel correction that can be achieved, in terms of GPS data precision and gravity wavelengths, is theoretically studied and estimated using the gravity and GPS data acquired during the Alpine Swiss French airborne gravity survey carried out in 1998 over the French Western Alps. While a 1 cm precision of GPS‐determined baseline coordinates is sufficient to achieve a 5 mGal precision of the offlevel correction, we maintain that this precision has to reach 1 mm to ensure a 1 mGal precision of the offlevel correction at any wavelength. Without a stabilized platform, the onboard instrumentation becomes significantly lighter. Furthermore, the correction for the offlevel error is straightforward and calculated only from GPS data. Thus, the precision and the resolution of airborne gravity surveys should be estimated with a better accuracy.     

Local geoid determination based on airborne gravity data

A mathematical model used for determination of a local geoid model by combining airborne gravity disturbances and the Earth Gravitational Model 2008 (EGM08) is shortly reviewed. The precision of the estimated local geoid model of Taiwan is tested by its comparison with the “real” geoid at Global Satellite Navigation Systems (GNSS)/levelling points. The same comparison at GNSS/levelling points is done for the geoid evaluated only by using EGM08. Conclusions concerning a rate of improvement of the “global” geoid from EGM08 using the “local” geoid from airborne gravity data are presented.     

珠峰地区似大地水准面精化与珠峰顶正高的确定

本文使用珠峰及其周边地区的重力数据与SRTM3、1∶50000 DEM、GTOPO30地形数据,以该地区的44个GPS水准点为控制,选择国内外的EGM96、WDM94、IGG05B、DQM2000D和CG03C作为参考重力场模型,采用移去-恢复技术,首次完成了珠峰地区分辨率为2.5′×2.5′高精度似大地水准面,其精度达到±9 cm,并据此推算了珠峰顶高程异常值. 再利用登山线路上的新测重力点与珠峰地形数据,依据严格的重力归算理论及移去-恢复技术,完成了珠峰顶似大地水准面与大地水准面差值计算,即珠峰正常高与正高的换算.     

The new quasi-geoid model IRQG09 for Iran

Iran is a mountainous country with large lateral density variations of its crust. Constant density value is commonly used to determine the geoid models as well as topographic corrections. The effect of lateral density variation in the geoid can reach up to 14 cm in Iran which is not negligible in a precise geoid modelling. Also, the current height datum of Iran is based on the orthometric system but the effect of gravity variation was not applied in height parameter. Furthermore, the height systems of most neighbouring countries are defined as normal height. Connection of networks can be useful for the unification of height datum, geodynamics researches and optimal adjustment of levelling network. The new quasi-geoid model based on a recent EGM2008 global geo-potential model was created to solve the mentioned problem. The main purpose of the present study is to discuss the results of a research project in which a gravimetric quasi-geoid model for Iran was computed based on the least-squares modification of Stokes' formula. The evaluation is made using 475 GPS/levelling height anomalies covering the major parts of the country except the mountainous areas to the North and West. After a 7-parameter fit, the most promising attempt achieved a RMS value of 19 cm for the residuals based on the GPS/levelling data.     

ANDALUSGeoid2002: The New Gravimetric Geoid Model of Andalusia (Southern Spain)

In 1991 the first determination of a gravimetric geoid in a test area in central Spain was computed by using least square collocation. In 1995 a gravimetric geoid in the Iberian Peninsula, Ibergeo95, was calculated by FFT. Nowadays an improved geoid of Andalusia, ANDALUSGeoid2002, has been computed by fast collocation procedure and remove-restore technique in the GRS80 Reference System. The computations have been done from 16562 free-air gravity anomaly data set, obtained from IGN (Instituto Geográfico Nacional) and BGI (International Gravity Bureau), the Earth Gravity Model EGM96 and detailed (100 m × 100 m), coarse (5 km × 5 km) and reference (20 km × 20 km) digital terrain models. Relative carrier-phase GPS measurements at 69 benchmarks of the Spanish Levelling Network in Andalusia have been done. The standard deviations of differences between ANDALUSGeoid2002 and GPS/levelling undulations after fitting the tilt have been ± 11 cm, ± 39 cm and ± 38 cm in western, eastern and whole Andalusia, respectively. The ANDALUSGeoid2002 shows an improvement of Ibergeo95 in this territory.     

Quasigeoids for the Territory of the Czech Republic

Several quasigeoid models for the Czech Republic have been developed for different purposes since mid-seventies using different data sources: gravimetric, astronomical and GPS/levelling observations, as well as data gained from the territories of neighbouring countries. Two of the recent solutions, namely the VUGTK96 quasigeoid obtained from heterogeneous data and gravimetric quasigeoid CR2000 are described and compared. Accuracies of the models were estimated with the help of accuracy characteristics resulting from the processing, by comparison with GPS/levelling results available for most of the territory, and, finally, tested on a special GPS/levelling profile across the steepest slope of the quasigeoid surface in the south-eastern part of the territory. It is shown that the CR2000 gravimetric quasigeoid is suitable for transformation of ellipsoidal GPS heights to the gravity related heights with an accuracy of 3 cm.     

Modelling the fine-structure of the geoid: Methods,data requirements and some results

The requirements for precise geoid models on local and regional scales have increased in recent years, primarily due to the ongoing developments in height determination by GPS on land, but also due to oceanographic requirements in using satellite altimetry for recovering dynamic sea-surface topography. Suitable methods for geoid computations from gravity data include Stokes integration, FFT methods, and least-squares collocation. Especially the FFT methods are efficient in handling large amounts of gravity data, and new variants of the methods taking earth curvature rigorously into account provide attractive methods for obtaining continental-scale, high-resolution geoid models. The accuracy of such models may be from 2–5 cm locally, to 50–100 cm on regional scales, depending on gravity data coverage, long wave-length gravity field errors, and datum problems. When approaching the cm-level geoid basic geoid definition questions (geoid or quasigeoid?) become very significant, especially in rugged areas. In the paper the geoid modelling methods and problems are reviewed, and some investigations on local data requirements for cm-level geoid prediction are presented. Some actual results are presented from Scandinavia, where a recent regional high-resolution geoid model yields apparent accuracies of 2–10 cm over GPS baselines of 50 to 2000 km.     

An estimation of the height system bias parameter <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis><Subscript>0</Subscript> using least squares collocation from observed gravity and GPS-levelling data

This paper deals with the analysis of gravity anomaly and precise levelling in conjunction with GPS-Levelling data for the computation of a gravimetric geoid and an estimate of the height system bias parameter N_o for the vertical datum in Pakistan by means of least squares collocation technique. The long term objective is to obtain a regional geoid (or quasi-geoid) modeling using a combination of local data with a high degree and order Earth gravity model (EGM) and to determine a bias (if there is one) with respect to a global mean sea surface. An application of collocation with the optimal covariance parameters has facilitated to achieve gravimetric height anomalies in a global geocentric datum. Residual terrain modeling (RTM) technique has been used in combination with the EGM96 for the reduction and smoothing of the gravity data. A value for the bias parameter N_o has been estimated with reference to the local GPS-Levelling datum that appears to be 0.705 m with 0.07 m mean square error. The gravimetric height anomalies were compared with height anomalies obtained from GPS-Levelling stations using least square collocation with and without bias adjustment. The bias adjustment minimizes the difference between the gravimetric height anomalies with respect to residual GPS-Levelling data and the standard deviation of the differences drops from 35 cm to 2.6 cm. The results of this study suggest that N_o adjustment may be a good alternative for the fitting of the final gravimetric geoid as is generally done when using FFT methods.     

Recovery of marine gravity anomalies from ERS1, ERS2 and ENVISAT satellite altimetry data for geoid computations over Norway

Free-Air Anomalies (FAA) for the Norwegian marine area including some parts of the North Sea, the Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea are computed from satellite altimetry data. A total of 84 cycles of ERS2 along-track data, 25 cycles of ENVISAT along-track data and high density ERS1 data during its geodetic mission are used. The new geopotential model from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission, GGM02S (Tapely et al., 2005) is used to compute the long wavelength contributions of the geoid and the FAA. To correct data for mean dynamic topography, the available Levitus climatology model (Levitus and Boyer, 1994) is used. Corrected data are then used to compute along-track gradients in each cycle-pass to suppress the orbital and the atmospheric errors below the noise level of the altimeter. Resulted gradients are then stacked and the east-west and the north-south components of the deflection of verticals are computed where ascending and descending tracks meet each other. Finally, the inverse Vening-Meinesz formula is implemented on the gridded deflections to compute FAA. Results are then compared with available marine and airborne data. Standard deviations of ± 4.301 and ± 6.159 mGal in comparison with airborne and marine FAA were achieved. Thereafter, the derived anomalies are combined with marine and airborne FAA together with the land FAA to compute a fine resolution geoid for Norway and the surrounding marine areas. This geoid is evaluated over sea and land with the synthetic geoid (the geoid derived from the mean sea surface by subtracting the mean dynamic topography) and Global Positioning System (GPS)-levelling and the standard deviations of the differences are ± 20.9 and ± 12.8 cm respectively. ali.soltanpour@ntnu.no, hossein.nahavandchi@ntnu.no, kourosh.ghazavi@ntnu.no     

Gravimetric geoid for Egypt implementing Moho depths and optimal geoid fitting approach

The aim of this paper is to investigate the effect of implementing the experimentally determined GEMMA Moho depths (GOCE Exploitation for Moho Modeling and Applications), which are partly seismically estimated, in gravimetric geoid computation in Egypt. The window remove-restore technique has been proposed to avoid the double consideration of the topographic-isostatic masses in the neighbourhood of the computational point. The plate loading theory has been used to model the seismically determined Moho depths. A constant density contrast between the lower crust and the upper mantle has been postulated. The tailored geopotential model EGTGM2014 has been used for the long wavelength contributions of the Earth’s gravity field. A comparison with a geoid computed using the EGM2008 and Airy floating hypothesis has been made. For all cases, a gravimetric geoid for Egypt has been computed using Stokes’ integral in the frequency domain by 1-D FFT technique. The computed geoids are fitted to the GPS-levelling derived geoid using an optimum geoid fitting technique for Egypt introduced by the author. The results show that using the seismically determined Moho depths within the plate loading theory and the EGTGM2014 tailored geopotential model gives a geoid with external accuracy of about 16 cm.