Atmospheric excitation of polar motion

The polar motion excited by the fluctuation of global atmospheric angular momentum (AAM) is investigated. Based on the global AAM data, numerical results demonstrate that the fluctuation of AAM can excite the seasonal wobbles (e.g., the 18-month wobble) and the Chandler wobble, which agree well with previous studies. In addition, by filtering the dominant low frequency components, some distinct polar wobbles corresponding to some great diurnal and semi-diurnal atmospheric tides are found.     

Modeling and forecast of the polar motion excitation functions for short-term polar motion prediction

Short-term forecast of the polar motion is considered by introducing a prediction model for the excitation function that drives the polar motion dynamics. The excitation function model consists of a slowly varying trend, periodic modes with annual and several sub-annual frequencies (down to the 13.6-day fortnightly tidal period), and a transient decay function with a time constant of 1.5 days. Each periodic mode is stochastically specified using a second-order auto-regression process, allowing its frequency, phase, and amplitude to vary in time within a statistical tolerance. The model is used to time-extrapolate the excitation function series, which is then used to generate a polar motion forecast dynamically. The skills of this forecast method are evaluated by comparison to the C-04 polar motion series. Over the lead-time horizon of four months, the proposed method has performed equally well to some of the state-of-art polar motion prediction methods, none of which specifically features forecasting of the excitation function. The annual mode in the ₂ component is energetically the most dominant periodicity. The modes with longer periods, annual and semi-annual in particular, are found to contribute more significantly to forecast accuracy than those with shorter periods.     

Linear drift and periodic variations observed in long time series of polar motion

 Two long time series were analysed: the C01 series of the International Earth Rotation Service and the pole series obtained by re-analysis of the classical astronomical observations using the HIPPARCOS reference frame. The linear drift of the pole was determined to be 3.31 ± 0.05 milliarcseconds/year towards 76.1 ± 0.80° west longitude. For the least-squares fit the a priori correlations between simultaneous pole coordinates x _p , y _p were taken into account, and the weighting function was calculated by estimating empirical variance components. The decadal variations of the pole path were investigated by Fourier and wavelet analysis. Using sliding windows, the periods and amplitudes of the Chandler wobble and annual wobble were determined. Typical periods in the variable Chandler wobble and annual wobble parameters were obtained from wavelet analyses. Received: 21 January 2000 / Accepted: 28 August 2000     

Polar motion excited by atmosphere and ocean in multi-frequency bands

This research aims to study the influences of the atmospheric and oceanic excitations on polar motion.Power spectrum density analyses show that the efficiencies of the atmospheric and oceanic excitations differ not only at different frequencies but also in the retrograde and prograde components,but the sum of atmospheric and oceanic excitations shows the best agreement with the observed excitation.     

Chandler摆动的双频现象用于拟合极移确定项的研究

极移中Chandler摆动出现的双频现象,一直以来为许多学者所关注。推导了基于Chandler摆动双频的极移确定项模型,并采用该模型对极移确定项进行了拟合。与仅采用单频进行确定项拟合的对比表明,利用双频能取得更理想的结果。     

用极移数据直接测算钱德勒摆动Q值

运用已经发展起来的共振激发和参数共振模型,在频率调制的基础上,对IERS极移数据测算出钱德勒摆动的Q值,得到平均值为63,并以每百年0.8的速率在增大。这一结果与Q的滞弹性PREM模型理论值69十分接近,表明共振激发模型和参数共振模型完全与钱德勒摆动滞弹理论相容。     

A study of gravity variations caused by polar motion using superconducting gravimeter data from the GGP network

Long-term continuous gravity observations, recorded at five superconducting gravimeter (SG) stations in the Global Geodynamic Project (GGP) network, as well as data on orientation variations in the Earths rotation axis (i.e. polar motion), have been used to investigate the characteristics of gravity variations on the Earths surface caused by polar motion. All the SG gravity data sets were pre-processed using identical techniques to remove the luni-solar gravity tides, the long-term trends of the instrumental drift, and the effects of atmospheric pressure. The analysis indicates that the spectral peaks, related to the Chandler and annual wobbles, were identified in both the power and product spectral density estimates. The magnitude of gravity variations, as well as the gravimetric amplitude factor associated with the Chandler wobble, changed significantly at different SG stations and during different observation periods. However, when all the SG observations at these five sites were combined, the gravimetric parameters of the Chandler wobble were retrieved accurately: 1.1613 ± 0.0737 for the amplitude factor and –1°.30 ± 1°.33 for the phase difference. The value of the estimated amplitude factor is in agreement with that predicted theoretically for the zonal tides of an elastic Earth model.     

对钱德勒参数进行时变修正的CLS+AR模型在极移预测中的应用

根据LS模型参数中钱德勒项的时变性质,提出了基于钱德勒参数时变修正的CLS模型,并用CLS+AR对极移进行预测。实验结果表明,CLS+AR模型在极移预测精度上较LS+AR模型有较大改善。     

Comparison of polar motion with oceanic and atmospheric angular momentum time series for 2-day to Chandler periods

During a 4-year period starting in July 1996 and using intervals ranging from 3 days to 4 years, four precise polar motion (PM) series have been compared to excitation by atmospheric angular momentum (AAM) augmented with oceanic angular momentum (OAM) data. The first three series (C03, C04 and Bulletin A) are multi-technique combinations generated by the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS) and the fourth combined series (IGS00P02) is produced by the International GPS Service (IGS) using only GPS data. The IGS PM compared the best with the combined excitations of atmosphere and oceans (AAM+OAM) at all intervals, showing high overall correlation of 0.8–0.9. Even for the interval of only three days, the IGS PM gave a significant correlation of about 0.6. Moreover, during the interval of February 1999 – July 2000, which should be representative of the current precision of the IGS PM, a significant correlation (>0.4) extended to periods as short as 2.2 days and 2.5 days for the x_p and y_p PM components, respectively. When using the IERS Bulletin B (C04) PM and an interval of almost 6 years, starting in November 1994, the combined OAM+AAM accounted for practically all the annual, semi-annual and Chandler wobble (CW) PM signals. When only AAM was used, either the US National Centers for Environment Prediction reanalysis data, which were used throughout this study, or the Japanese Meteorological Agency data, two large and well-resolved amplitude peaks of about 0.1 mas/day, remained at the retrograde annual and CW periods.     

EARTH ROTATION EQUATIONS CONTAINING BOTH NUTATION AND POLAR MOTION

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Polar motion modeling,analysis, and prediction with time dependent harmonic coefficients

A time dependent amplitude model was proposed for the analysis and prediction of polar motion time series. The formulation was implemented to analyze part of the new combined solution, EOP (IERS) C 04, daily polar motion time series of 14 years length using a statistical model with first order autoregressive disturbances. A new solution approach, where the serial correlations of the disturbances are eliminated by sequentially differencing the measurements, was used to estimate the model parameters using weighted least squares. The new model parsimoniously represents the 14-year time series with 0.5 mas rms fit, close to the reported 0.1 mas observed pole position precisions for the x and y components. The model can also predict 6 months into the future with less than 4 mas rms prediction error for both polar motion components, and down to sub mas for one-step ahead prediction as validated using a set of daily time series data that are not used in the estimation. This study is dedicated to the memory of Prof. Urho Uotila (1923–2006) whose teaching of “Adjustment Computations” over the years influenced so much, so many of us who had the privilege of being his students.     

Polar motion of the triaxial nonrigid Earth and atmospheric excitation

The present study aims to extend the traditional rotation theory of the rotational-symmetric Earth to the triaxial Earth.We re-formulate the Liouville equations and their general solutions for the triaxial nonrigid Earth and find that the traditional theory intro-duces some theoretical errors in modeling the excitation functions.Furthermore,we apply that theory to the atmospheric excitation and find that theoretical errors should not be neglected given the present measurement accuracy.Thus we conclude that the traditional the-ory of the rotation of the rotational-symmetric Earth should be revised and upgraded to include the effects of the Earth’s triaxiality.     

对分量进行联合解算的极移预报方法研究

为了提高极移预报的精度,该文提出结合极移的两个分量进行统一求解的极移联合预报方法:将极移的两个分量组成一个观测方程,并采用LS+AR模型对联合分量的确定项与随机项进行拟合。实验结果表明,文中采用的联合预报方法可以提高极移的预报精度。     

On long-period polar motion

 Five separate polar motion series are examined in order to understand what portion of their variations at periods exceeding several years represents true polar motion. The data since the development of space-geodetic techniques (by themselves insufficient for study of long-period motion), and a variety of historical astrometric data sets, allow the following tentative conclusions: retrograde long-period polar motion below about −0.2 cpy (cycles per year) in pre-space-geodetic data (pre-1976) is dominantly noise. For 1976–1992, there is poor agreement between space-geodetic and astrometric series over the range −0.2 to +0.2 cpy, demonstrating that classical astrometry lacked the precision to monitor polar motion in this frequency range. It is concluded that all the pre-1976 astrometric polar motion data are likely to be dominated by noise at periods exceeding about 10 years. The exception to this is possibly a linear trend found in some astrometric and space geodetic series. At frequencies above prograde +0.2 cpy (periods shorter than about 5 years), historical astrometric data may be of sufficient quality for comparisons with geophysical excitation time series. Even in the era of space geodesy, significant differences are found in long-period variations in published polar motion time series. Received: 27 March 2001 / Accepted: 15 October 2001     

An improved empirical model for the effect of long-period ocean tides on polar motion

Because the tide-raising potential is symmetric about the Earth’s polar axis it can excite polar motion only by acting upon non-axisymmetric features of the Earth like the oceans. In fact, after removing atmospheric and non-tidal oceanic effects, polar motion excitation observations show a strong fortnightly tidal signal that is not completely explained by existing dynamical and empirical ocean tide models. So a new empirical model for the effect of the termensual (Mtm and mtm), fortnightly (Mf and mf), and monthly (Mm) tides on polar motion is derived here by fitting periodic terms at these tidal frequencies to polar motion excitation observations that span 2 January 1980 to 8 September 2006 and from which atmospheric and non-tidal oceanic effects have been removed. While this new empirical tide model can fully explain the observed fortnightly polar motion excitation signal during this time interval it would still be desirable to have a model for the effect of long-period ocean tides on polar motion that is determined from a dynamical ocean tide model and that is therefore independent of polar motion observations.     

Atmospheric tides and rotation of the Earth

The six-hourly values of the atmospheric angular momentum (AAM) functions computed by the U.S. National Meteorological Center (NMC) were used to estimate the effects of the atmospheric tides on the Earth's rotation. Variations of the equatorial components ₁ and ₂ of the AAM have periods close to gravitational tidesP ₁ andK ₁.The amplitudes of the detected variations in ₁ and ₂ functions have been found to be much larger than the theoretical ones, the reason of this amplification remains unexplained. According to theoretical formulations, these waves can be expressed only as retrograde motions. Because of frame effects, there is a correspondance between diurnal retrograde polar motion and precession-nutations and the atmospheric effect on polar motion cannot be detected from observations.The second part of this paper deals the effects of atmospheric tides in Earth rotation. High-frequency UT1 variations have been derived from VLBI and GPS techniques during the SEARCH'92 campaign (Study ofEarth-AtmosphereRapidCHanges) (Dickey et al. 1994). They have been compared to values derived by Ray et al. (1994) from global ocean tide model. The results obtained in the present paper show the existence of variations of thermal origin with an amplitude of about 1µs in Universal Time UT1. The agreement between observed and theoretical values is better when the determined thermal atmospheric tides are taken into account.Oceanic tidal signal explains a large part (60% of the signal variance) of the diurnal and sub-diurnal variations. Our results show that only a small part of the residuals (5%) accounts for the atmospheric tidal effects. The residual signal remains unexplained; it might be due to mismodelization of oceanic or atmospheric tides or effect of other geophysical phenomena.     

7个月周期极移的非线性动力机制

从滞弹性阻尼形变摄动造成CW频率调制假设出发,对CW的共振激发模型加上了参数的时变调制,变成了参数共振模型。经正演计算发现,参数共振模型完全符合CW的实际,表明滞弹性阻尼形变摄动造成频率的3%调制,进一步使得CW振幅调制可达70%以上。这一参数共振模型是一个非线性动力系统,在非线性情况下,运动将发生分岔,即多解。     

Chandler摆动轨迹的非线性螺旋线拟合及机制的研究

依照非线性动力学原理,从摆动的不稳定性出发,推出Chandler摆动的非线性动力学螺旋运动轨迹模型。给出Chandler摆动的非线性动力学螺旋轨迹解法,由IERS实测数据中的Chandler摆动位移坐标值,可以得到每两个数据间的螺线插值参数。这对于以往的线性插值的折线拟合是一个改进,也为Chandler摆动的螺旋运动轨迹给出了理论解释。计算得到,Chandler摆动平均每年螺旋的螺距有6.75mas。     

三轴地球Chandler晃动的振幅-频率调制机制

研究了三轴地球的自由晃动,给出了Euler动力学方程的椭圆函数解和Euler/Chandler周期。研究表明,三轴性使得极移轨迹变为短、长半轴分别与主惯性轴A、B平行的椭圆,同时使得极移和自转速率产生耦合效应,导致Chandler晃动的振幅-频率调制机制。根据IERS数据还得出了地极正以3.93 mas/a的速率向77.98°W方向漂移的结论。