Regional gravity variations in Europe from superconducting gravimeters

Recent satellite missions (CHAMP, GRACE) are now returning data on the time variation of the gravity field with harmonic coefficients computed every 4 weeks. The promise is to achieve a sub-microgal accuracy that will define continental mass variations involving large-scale hydrology. With this in mind, we examine the time varying gravity field over central Europe using a limited number of high quality ground-based superconducting gravimeter stations within the Global Geodynamics Project (GGP). Our purpose is to see whether there are coherent signals between the individual stations and to compare the regional component with that predicted from models of continental hydrology. The results are encouraging. We have found, using empirical orthogonal eigenfunctions of the gravity data that a clear annual signal is present that is consistent in phase (low amplitudes in summer) and amplitude (1–3 microgal) with that determined from a large-scale model of land water in connection with global climate modeling. More work is required to define how the gravity field is related to large-scale soil moisture and other mass variations, and we have yet to compare our results to the latest satellite-derived data.     

Seasonal effects of non-tidal oceanic mass shifts in observations with superconducting gravimeters

In order to achieve a consistent combination of terrestrial and satellite-derived (GRACE) gravity field variations reductions of systematic perturbations must be applied to both data sets. At the same time evidence needs to be provided that these reductions are both necessary and sufficient. Based on the OMCT and the ECCO model the gravity effect of non-tidal oceanic mass shifts is computed for various sites equipped with a superconducting gravimeter (SG) and esp. the long-periodic contributions are studied. With these oceanic models the dynamic ocean response to atmospheric pressure loading is automatically computed, and thus goes beyond the more simplistic concepts of an inverted barometer, or alternately a rigid ocean, which is a clear advantage.The findings so far are ambiguous: for instance the systematic seasonal change of about 10 nm/s² in gravity for mid-European stations is presently not found in the observed gravity variations. Generally, the order of magnitude of the total effect of 22–27 nm/s² is surprisingly large for inland stations. In some data sections the reduction leads to the removal of some of the larger residuals. The results obtained for the South-African station Sutherland differ. Here the modelled seasonal variation caused by the non-tidal oceanic mass redistribution and gravity residuals generally correlate, and thus by the reduction an improvement of the signal-to-noise ratio in the gravity observations is achieved.An explanation for the different results might be found in the global hydrological models. Such a model is needed in order to remove the effect of large-scale variations in continental water storage in the gravity observations. This reduction plays a greater role for European stations than for the South African site. A critical impact of the land-sea-mask used in the oceanic models and the subsequent insufficient resolution of the North and Baltic Sea on the computations at the mid-European sites could not be confirmed.From a comparison between the OMCT and the ECCO model substantial discrepancies in some regions of the earth emerge, while both predict variations at inland stations in Europe, South Africa, and Asia of similar magnitude. We currently hesitate to recommend including this reduction in the routine processing of SG data because the seasonal order of magnitude for inland stations is unexpectedly large and partly significant deviations between the modelled oceanic effects exist. If the order of magnitude proves to be correct universally, this reduction has to be applied.     

Analysis of observations with dual sensor superconducting gravimeters

Among the 21 superconducting gravimeters presently operating worldwide four instruments exist that are equipped with two vertically aligned sensor units. Three of the instruments are installed in Germany (Bad Homburg, Moxa, Wettzell) and one in South Africa (Sutherland). Comparisons of the data sets obtained with the dual sensor systems yield information on instrumental effects and sensitivity as well as on the efficiency of reductions of environmental effects applied to the data. The latter is an important constraint when looking for small geodynamic signals like Slichter and core modes or aperiodic variations.From analyses of the two data sets of each instrument a small but significant difference of 1-3% in the response of the sensor units on barometric pressure variations is found. Likewise, the records of lower and upper sensor vary slightly but not systematically with regard to the noise levels in the different frequency ranges. The tidal analyses yield an agreement of the tidal parameters generally well within the standard deviations determined from the least squares adjustment in the tidal analysis. The deviations are in the range between 0×10⁻⁴ and 3×10⁻⁴ for the amplitude factor and the phases differ between 0.0005° and 0.01° for the four main tidal constituents O1, K1, M2, and S2.The comparison of the gravity residuals of the two sensors with each other as well as with their sum and difference in the time and frequency domain shows the existence of identical signals in the records of the two sensors in the whole range of observation. This probably means that either the environmental reductions applied are not sufficient or there are additional disturbing effects in the data which have not been taken care of yet. From the study it emerges that it is not possible to get entirely rid of the tidal signals in the data. This is probably also due to the fact that despite reductions the data sets contain additional signals and slightly different noise at tidal frequencies which affect the result of the tidal analysis.     

Estimated Green's function extracted from superconducting gravimeters and seismometers

Estimated Green's function (EGF) between stations has been extracted from ambient seismic noise, direct surface wave and coda waves. It is also confirmed by laboratory experiments on ultrasonics and theoretical derivations assuming diffusive wave field, equi-partition of modes or random sources on an enclosed surface. This method provides a new approach to study the crust and mantle structure at regional scale, continental scale and global scale. Following the achievements with seismometer records, the records of infrasonic station, hydrophone and microphone were also used to obtain the EGFs of different wave fields. Since superconducting gravimeter is a better long period instrument than regular seismometer, EGF at longer period is expected to be obtained with the cross correlation of gravity data. In this paper, we will show the EGFs extracted by cross-correlations between the superconducting gravimeters and the seismometers. Both the travel times and dispersion curves obtained from different data types are consistent. The result shows that it is possible to retrieve the deep structure by the cross correlation of gravity data.     

Gravity field variations from superconducting gravimeters for GRACE validation

The network of superconducting gravimeters (SG) of the ‘Global Geodynamics Project’ (GGP) offers the unique opportunity to supplement and validate the gravity field variations derived from the GRACE satellite mission. Because of the different spatial and temporal resolutions of the gravity data a combination of all datasets can be used to retrieve a maximum of information regarding mass transfers especially related to hydrology which is deployable as constraint for hydrological modelling.For a consistent combination of the datasets the gap between terrestrial data of superconducting and absolute gravimeters (AG) and from satellite data has to be bridged. A successful combination of SG and AG data could be realized for several stations which resulted in time series of the highest accuracy and long-term stability.In principle, the same reductions applied to GRACE data have to be taken into account for the terrestrial data. The separation of local hydrological effects in SG observations is crucial for the comparison with satellite-derived gravity data. It is shown that even for stations with a hydrological challenging situation such as Moxa/Germany local hydrology-induced effects can be successfully modelled.Currently, the study focuses on Europe with its dense and long-term observation network. Regarding the consistency of the SG gravity variations they are representative for a larger region. From a comparison with GRACE-derived gravity field changes, and the variations due to hydrological models a principle good agreement emerges.     

Performance of superconducting gravimeters from long-period seismology to tides

The first phase (1997–2003) of the Global Geodynamics Project (GGP) has now been completed. Data from superconducting gravimeters (SGs) within GGP have shown great capabilities in a wide spectrum of geophysical applications from the tidal studies to the long-period seismology. Here, we compare the noise levels of the different contributing stations over the whole spectrum. We use three different processing procedures to evaluate the combined instrument-plus-site noise in the long-period seismic band (200–600 s), in the sub-seismic band (1–6 h) and in the tidal bands (12–24 h). The analysis in the seismic band has demonstrated that SGs are particularly well suited for the studies of the long-period normal modes and thus are complementary to long-period seismometers. In the sub-seismic band, the power spectral densities, computed over a period of 15 continuous days for every GGP station, cross the New Low Noise Model of Peterson from T = 16 min to T = 4.6 h. SG data are therefore appropriate for studying long-period seismic and sub-seismic modes. In the tidal bands, the noise comparison is realised by a least-squares fit to tides, local air pressure and instrumental drift, leading to gravity residuals where we estimate a standard deviation and average noise levels in different tidal frequency bands. Tidal gravity observations using SGs have also shown to be an independent validation tool of ocean tidal models, and they are therefore complementary to tide gauge and altimetric data sets. Knowledge of the noise levels at each station is important in a number of studies that combine the data to determine global Earth parameters. We illustrate it with the stacking of the data in the search for the gravity variations associated with the sub-seismic translational motions of the inner core, the so-called Slichter triplet.     

Polar motion influences in the gravity data recorded by superconducting gravimeters

Gravity data stored in the GGP database (GGP-ISDC) are used to study the small gravity variations caused by polar motion. In a first step the dominant tidal signal and the instrumental drift have to be eliminated from the gravity data. In most cases it is sufficient to model the instrumental drift by polynomials of low degree. The resulting non-tidal gravity variations are split up into their main constituents by fitting two sinusoidal waves with periods of 365.25 days (annual wobble) and 432 days (Chandler wobble). In a similar way the gravity effect of the observed polar motion (IERS-Data) is processed. The ratio between the correspondent amplitudes gives the amplitude factors δ of both wobbles.In a more sophisticated model an additional annual wave was included, destined to absorb disturbing influences with annual period (e.g. environmental influences of different origin). The amount of these influences and the success of their elimination are very different at the individual stations.Besides the comparison of the amplitude factors it also was tried to compare the gravity residuals itself. For that purpose the data series recorded at the different stations were transferred to a common reference point (0°E, 45°N). The graph of the stacked data series gives a first impression of the accordance of the data series recorded at the different stations. Since randomly distributed disturbing influences are reduced by the averaging the amplitude factors derived from the mean of the stacked data series are more reliable than the values derived from the data at the individual stations.In the end 12 data series were included in a common processing. Amplitude factors of 1.183 for the annual and 1.168 for the Chandler wobble result with mean errors less than ±0.010 (roughly estimated). Although corrections for environmental influences were not included directly, the additionally fitted annual wave reduced the scatter of the amplitude factors in the annual range considerably. In contrast to that the amplitude factor of the Chandler wobble remains nearly unaffected, confirming the assumption that the disturbing environmental influences do not extend into the period range of the Chandler wobble.     

Adaptability of the ocean and earth tidal models based on global observations of the superconducting gravimeters

As the gravity field is the most primary and direct physical quantity reflecting the density variation of the Earth’s interior and its geodynamic properties under various environmental changes and as the knowledge of the fine structure of the Earth’s interior and its geo-dynamics has a strong impact on space research, grav-ity observations become more and more important in Earth sciences. Therefore based on a global network of superconducting gravimeters (SGs), the Global Geo-dynamic Proje…     

LaCosteG型重力仪气压改正方法的研究

在探讨ＬａＣｏｓｔｅＧ型重力仪气压响应的数学力学模型及模型参数测定方法的基础上,提出了一种实用的气压改正程序。根据北京高崖口基线的实验观测资料,计算了Ｇ５７０仪器的气压响应模型参数,并对灵山基线的观测结果进行了气压改正,基本消除了气压影响,明显提高了观测精度。     

Study of the Earth's free core nutation by tidal gravity data recorded with international superconducting gravimeters

By stacking high-precision tidal gravity observations obtained with superconducting gravimeters at six stations in China, Japan, Belgium, France, Germany and Finland, the local systematical discrepancies in the parameter fitting, caused by atmospheric, oceanic tidal loading and the other local environmental perturbations, are eliminated effectively. As a result, the resonance parameters of the Earth's free core nutation are accurately determined. In this study, the eigenperiod of free core nutation is given as 429.0 sidereal days, which is in agreement with those published in the previous studies. It is about 30 sidereal days less than those calculated in theoretical models (about 460 sidereal days), which confirms the real ellipticity of the fluid core of the Earth to be about 5% larger than the one expected in assumption of hydrostatic equilibrium. The quality factor (Q value) of free core nutation is given as about 9543, which, compared with those determined before based on the body tide observations, is much larger, but more close to those obtained using the VLBI observations. The complex resonance strength is also determined as (?6.10(10?4, ?0.01(10?4)(/h, which can principally describe the deformation characteristics of an anelastic mantle.     

Time series of superconducting gravimeters and water storage variations from the global hydrology model WGHM

The gravimetric time series achieved from the combination of superconducting and absolute gravimeters are characterized by highest precision and long-term stability. If the effects of Earth and ocean tides, atmosphere and polar motion are removed, the residual curve is dominated by hydrological mass variations. A major source of these variations is water storage changes in the vicinity of the sensor. However, global variations contribute to the signal significantly. For three stations of superconducting gravimeters, a comparison of the principal components obtained from the residual gravity curve on the one hand and continental water storage from the WaterGAP Global Hydrological Model (WGHM) on the other hand is carried out. The results demonstrate a coherence of seasonal variations but a difference in the contribution of the local zone at the individual stations, which point out the need for a careful and site-specific examination of local effects.     

Time stability of spring and superconducting gravimeters through the analysis of very long gravity records

Long gravity records are of great interest when performing tidal analyses. Indeed, long series enable to separate contributions of near-frequency waves and also to detect low frequency signals (e.g. long period tides and polar motion). In addition to the length of the series, the quality of the data and the temporal stability of the noise are also very important. We study in detail some of the longest gravity records available in Europe: 3 data sets recorded with spring gravimeters in Black Forest Observatory (Germany, 1980–2012), Walferdange (Luxemburg, 1980–1995) and Potsdam (Germany, 1974–1998) and several superconducting gravimeters (SGs) data sets, with at least 9 years of continuous records, at different European GGP (Global Geodynamics Project) sites (Bad Homburg, Brussels, Medicina, Membach, Moxa, Vienna, Wettzell and Strasbourg). The stability of each instrument is investigated using the temporal variations of tidal parameters (amplitude factor and phase difference) for the main tidal waves (O1, K1, M2 and S2) as well as the M2/O1 factor ratio, the later being insensitive to the instrumental calibration. The long term stability of the tidal observations is also dependent on the stability of the scale factor of the relative gravimeters. Therefore we also check the time stability of the scale factor for the superconducting gravimeter C026 installed at the J9 Gravimetric Observatory of Strasbourg (France), using numerous calibration experiments carried out by co-located absolute gravimeter (AG) measurements during the last 15 years. The reproducibility of the scale factor and the achievable precision are investigated by comparing the results of different calibration campaigns. Finally we present a spectrum of the 25 years of SG records at J9 Observatory, with special attention to small amplitude tides in the semi-diurnal and diurnal bands, as well as to the low frequency part.     

Determination of gravimetric parameters of the gravity pole tide using observations recorded with superconducting gravimeters

In this study, the loading gravity effect of air mass changes calculated with the three-dimension (3D) meteorological data from the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) are removed from superconducting gravimeter (SG) observations. The global hydrological gravity effect is computed and removed with hydrological data from the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS). Otherwise, the gravity influences induced by a theoretical self-consistent ocean pole tide and variations in length of day (LOD) are considered in the calculation. After removing the influences mentioned previously and also considering the long term trend in the data, a very nice linear relationship between the theoretical gravity pole tide and observed gravity residual (containing the observed gravity pole tide) for each of the selected 9 GGP stations we considered can be obtained. Therefore, the gravimetric factor of the gravity pole tide can be estimated with a simple linear regression. The results show that no clear phase lag is found between the theoretical gravity pole tide and observed gravity residuals from the nine SG stations.     

超导重力仪检测2011年日本东北Mw9.0级地震前的重力扰动信号

对大地震前的扰动现象的研究有助于认识地震孕育的动力学过程,震前重力扰动已成为关注的热点之一. 对大地震前的扰动现象的研究有助于认识地震孕育的动力学过程,震前重力扰动已成为关注的热点之一. 为检验日本M_w9.0级地震是否存在震前扰动现象,本研究利用全球超导重力仪记录到的地震前后7天内20组秒采样数据进行分析. 经潮汐、大气改正等处理去除仪器的漂移及残余潮汐效应,得到非潮汐重力变化曲线.结果表明大部分振幅大于30×10^-8 m·s^-2的曲线反映了全球M_w≥6级地震引起的高频波动信号,其中11组数据在3月9日M_w7.3级前震之前出现了扰动现象.震前扰动可分解为三个频段,其中,低于0.1 Hz和高于0.18 Hz的分量分别反映了地震波动信号及非构造信息,中间频段(0.118~0.18 Hz)信号能够较大程度地压制地震波动信号、并同时保留异常扰动信息.它的振幅在3月7日10时之前基本保持约1×10^-8 m·s^-2,之后开始逐渐增大,到3月9日7.3级前震前后达到最大,此后振荡衰减,振幅保持约(5~10)×10^-8 m·s^-2,直至主震发生.中间频段信号的变化特征与主震前的应力迁移过程以及实验记录到的地震成核过程有许多相似之处;不过,震前重力异常是否与主震前的应力加速积累有关,仍待进一步研究.     

Study of the Earth’s free core nutation by tidal gravity data recorded with international superconducting gravimeters

By stacking high-precision tidal gravity observations obtained with superconducting gravimeters at six stations in China, Japan, Belgium, France, Germany and Finland, the local systematical discrepancies in the parameter fitting, caused by atmospheric, oceanic tidal loading and the other local environmental perturbations, are eliminated effectively. As a result, the resonance parameters of the Earth’s free core nutation are accurately determined. In this study, the eigenperiod of free core nutation is given as 429.0 sidereal days, which is in agreement with those published in the previous studies. It is about 30 sidereal days less than those calculated in theoretical models (about 460 sidereal days), which confirms the real ellipticity of the fluid core of the Earth to be about 5% larger than the one expected in assumption of hydrostatic equilibrium. The quality factor (Q value) of free core nutation is given as about 9543, which, compared with those determined before based on the body tide observations, is much larger, but more close to those obtained using the VLBI observations. The complex resonance strength is also determined as (−6.10×10⁻⁴, −0.01 ×10⁻⁴)°/h, which can principally describe the deformation characteristics of an anelastic mantle.     

Vibration experiments with sharpe gravimeters

Summary The results of gravimeter measurements are influenced by various external effects among them by natural and artificial vibration sources. The nature of this disturbing factor is not yet clear, but to study phenomena is very important. In this paper the author reports on his vibration experiments carried out with a geodetic-type Sharpe gravimeter in a laboratory. The experiments confirm the existence of a vibration interval which is very dangerous for gravimeter observations.     

A procedure for the calibration of gravimeters

Summary Taking into account some recent results showing that the observations carried out with Worden gravimeters are influenced by temperature, a method of calibration has been followed which aims to neutralize both the effect of drift and to affort complete symmetry to every value observed.

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Résumé En tenant compte de récents resultats qui montrent comme les lectures faites avec les gravimètres Worden soient influencées par la température, on a suivi pour l'étalonnage de ces gravimètres une méthode qui a le but outre que de neutralizer l'effet de la derive, d'assurer la complète symétrie aux valeurs observées.

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Riassunto Tenendo conto dei risultati di alcune recenti ricerche che mostrano come le letture fatte ai gravimetri Worden siano influenzate dalla temperatura, si è seguito un metodo di taratura che ha il duplice scopo di neutralizzare l'effetto della deriva e di trattare con la massima simmetria ogni singolo valore osservato.

     

Scientific achievements from the first phase (1997–2003) of the Global Geodynamics Project using a worldwide network of superconducting gravimeters

This paper aims to review the main scientific achievements which were obtained in the first phase (1997–2003) of the Global Geodynamics Project (GGP) consisting of a worldwide network of superconducting gravimeters (SG) of about 20 instruments. We show that the low noise levels reached by these instruments in various frequency bands allow us either to investigate new signals of very small amplitude or to better determine other signals previously seen. We first report new results in the long-period seismic band with special emphasis on the detection of the ₂S₁ normal mode and the splitting of the fundamental spheroidal mode ₂S₀ after the magnitude 8.4 Peru earthquake in 2001. We also discuss briefly the ‘hum’, which consists of a sequence of fundamental normal modes existing between 2 and 7 mHz even in the lack of any seismic excitation, and was first discovered on the Syowa (in Antarctica) instrument in 1998. We will comment on the search for the Slichter mode ₁S₁ of degree 1 which is associated with a translational motion of the inner core inside the liquid core. Atmospheric effects are reviewed from the local to the global scale and the improvement due to pressure loading computations on residual gravity signals is shown. An interesting study exhibiting the gravity consequence due to sudden rainfall and vertical mass motion in the atmosphere (without ground pressure change) is presented. The precision of the SGs leads to some convincing results in the tidal domain, concerning the fluid core resonance effect (free core nutation (FCN)) on diurnal tides or various loading effects (linear, non-linear) from the oceans. In particular, SGs gravity measurements are shown to be useful validating tools for ocean tides, especially if they are small and/or confined to coastal regions. The low instrumental drift of the SGs also permits to investigate non-tidal effects in time-varying gravity, especially of annual periodicity. Hydrology has also a signature which can be seen in SG measurements as shown by several recent studies. At even lower frequency, there is the Chandler motion of 435-day period which leads to observable gravity changes at the Earth's surface. We finally report on the progress done in the last years in the problem of calibrating/validating space satellite data with SG surface gravity measurements.     

欧洲绝对重力仪比对观测(ECGS'07)

介绍了2007年11月在欧洲卢森堡Walferdange举办的第二次绝对重力比对观测的概况及结果.有20台绝对重力仪参加了比对观测,在ECGS共15个测点上的比测结果标准偏差小于2.1×10~(-8)m·s~(-2).文章简述了数据处理方法以及结果分析,中国地震局地震研究所引进的FG5/232绝对重力仪参加了本次比对,为在中国大陆建立绝对重力基准提供了重要经验.     

Ways to improve metrological and operational characteristics of liquid gravimeters

A gas-liquid gravimeter of the manometric type with a drift-free elastic element, namely gas, proposed by the author is described. The possibility to implement an effective self-contained system allowing for complete compensation of the temperature and temperature gradient effects, as well as for actual elimination of the effect of a small inclination on the sensitive element of the gravimeter, is shown. Utilization of a float converter equipped with a capacitance transducer of displacements increases the measurement range up to ～10⁴ mGal, the calculation error in the entire range being ±1 μGal.