Some pressure test phenomena of worden and CG-2 (sharpe) gravimeters

Summary The results of pressure tests of gravimeters Worden No. 961, CG-2 Nos 174 G, 323 and 374 in a pressure chamber are presented. Apart from deriving the barometric correction, the authors have also studied accompanying phenomena, which occur during pressure tests of gravimeters — the barometric after-effect and hysteresis. The processing of the results in two ways differing in the method of eliminating the drift of the gravimeter, yields nearly identical results. The hysteresis was investigated for atmospheric pressures of 720±150 Torr (1 Torr=0.133322 kPa), a rate of change of 30 Torr/min and a temperature of 22°C. The barometric after-effect was investigated in greater detail for the CG-2 gravimeter No. 174 G at a pressure difference of 225 Torr, rate of change of 30, 15 and 7.5 Torr/min and a gravimeter heating temperature of 35 °C. It was also found that the barometric correction can be determined, using the method given, with sufficient accuracy. As a result of the existence of hysteresis, however, the derived results must be applied carefully in field gravity measurements with some gravimeters.     

Some results of calibrating CG-2 gravimeters (sharpe) by the tilt method

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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.     

Elimination of the non-linearity of the sharpe gravimeter scale

Summary A new method for calibrating the Sharpe gravimeter was derived in order to eliminate the non-linearity of the scale.     

Thermostat for the sharpe CG-2 gravimeter

Summary Gravimeters with a quartz system display a considerable temperature dependence. A simple thermostat for the Sharpe CG-2 gravimeter, eliminating this drawback, is described.Dedicated to Academician Alois Zátopek on His 65th Birthday     

Tilt effects on GWR superconducting gravimeters

The superconducting gravimeters (SGs) are the most sensitive and stable gravity sensors currently available. The low drift and high sensitivity of these instruments allow to investigate several geophysical phenomena inducing small- and long-period gravity changes. In order to study such topics, any kind of disturbance of instrumental origin has to be identified and possibly modelled. A critical point in gravity measurement is the alignment of the gravimeter to the local vertical. In fact a tilt of the instrument will lead to an apparent gravity change and can affect the instrumental drift. To avoid these drawbacks, SGs are provided with an “active tilt feedback system” (ATFS) designed to keep the meter aligned to the vertical. We analyse tilt and environmental parameters collected near Strasbourg, France, since 1997 to study the source of the tilt changes and check the capability of the ATFS to compensate them. We also present the outcomes of a calibration test applied to the ATFS output to convert the Tilt Power signals into angles. We find that most of the observed signal has a thermal origin dominated by a strong annual component of about 200 μrad. Nevertheless, our analysis shows that even the tilt due to different geophysical phenomena, other than the thermal ones, can be detected. A clear tidal signal of about 0.05 μrad is detectable thanks to the large data stacking (>11 years). We conclude that (i) the ATFS device compensates the tilt having a thermal origin or coming from any sources and (ii) no significant tilt changes alter the gravity signal, except for the high frequency (>1 mHz) perturbations.     

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.     

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.

     

Analysis of beam nulling of a sharpe gravity meter

Summary The routine nulling procedure is modified on the basis of the theoretical decay of transient motion of the gravity meter beam and the time needed for its stabilizing.     

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.     

Influence of atmospheric pressure variations on measurements made with Sharpe and Worden gravimeters

Summary The paper deals with the influence of the atmospheric pressure variations on Sharpe gravimeters CG 2 No. 226 and 280 and on the Worden gravimeter No. 978, equipped with a thermostat.Dedicated to RNDr. Jan Pícha, CSc., on his 60th Birthday     

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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

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。     

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.