Combined satellite altimetry and shipborne gravimetry data processing

The recovery of quantities related to the gravity field (i.e., geoid heights and gravity anomalies) is carried out in a test area of the central Mediterranean Sea using 5' × 5' marine gravity data and satellite altimeter data from the Geodetic Mission (GM) of ERS‐J. The optimal combination of the two heterogeneous data sources is performed using (1) the space‐domain least‐squares collocation (LSC) method, and (2) the frequency‐domain input‐output system theory (IOST). The results derived by these methods agree at the level of 2 cm in terms of standard deviation in the case of the geoid height prediction. The gravity anomaly prediction results by the same methods vary between 2.18 and 2.54 mGal in terms of standard deviation. In all cases, the spectral techniques have a much higher computational efficiency than the collocation procedure. In order to investigate the importance of satellite altimetry for gravity field modeling, a pure gravimetric geoid solution, carried out in a previous study for our lest area by the fast collocation approach (FCOL), is used in comparison with the combined geoid models. The combined solutions give more accurate results, at the level of about 15 cm in terms of standard deviation, than the gravimetric geoid solution, when the geoid heights derived by each method are compared with TOPEX altimeter sea surface heights (SSHs). Moreover, nonisotropic power spectral density functions (PSDs) can be easily used by IOST, while LSC requires isotropic covariance functions. The results show that higher prediction accuracies are always obtained when using a priori nonisotropic information instead of isotropic information.     

Global point‐mass adjustment of the oceanic geoid based on satellite altimetry

Altimeter residuals from a global spherical‐harmonic adjustment of satellite altimetry can be used as observations in a subsequent, or second‐phase, adjustment of a short‐wavelength oceanic geoid in terms of point‐mass magnitudes as parameters. An important part of the development presented is the formulation of the second‐phase adjustment via a banded or a banded‐bordered system of normal equations. This task encompasses three separate features: (1) elimination of the point masses from an observation equation if they are sufficiently far from the pertinent observation point, (2) special arrangement of the point‐mass parameters in the adjustment scheme, and (3) resolution of the resulting system through an adaptation of the well‐known Choleski algorithm. If only the point‐mass magnitudes are subject to adjustment, one is concerned with a banded system of normal equations. If selected tidal parameters are also implicated, this system becomes banded‐bordered. In fact, the former is a special case of the latter in every respect. By virtue of this approach (with or without tidal parameters), geoid undulations over large ocean basins can be adjusted in a few overlapping strips of point masses, leading to a detailed resolution of the entire oceanic geoid.     

Transformation of Lambert Conic Conformal Coordinates from a Global Datum to a Local Datum

A detailed gravimetric geoid around Japan has been computed on the basis of 30’ × 30’ block mean free‐air gravity anomalies and GSFC GEM‐8 geopotential coefficient set. The 30’ × 30’ block means were read from various gravity maps around Japan, and the block means have been compiled into the JHDGF‐1 gravity file. Since the gravity file is restricted around Japan (see Figure 1), additional gravity data are needed to perform the Stokes’ integration in the cap with radius ψ₀ = 20°. The 1° × 1° block gravity means have been used outside the JHDGF‐1 region. The remarkable features of the gravimetric geoid occur over the trench areas. The geoidal dents over the trenches amount to ‐20~ ‐25 m in comparison with the geoidal heights in the land areas of Japan. The mean error of the 30’ × 30’ detailed gravimetric geoid obtained is estimated to be around 1.4 m, and the relative undulation of the geoid between the distance of a few hundred kilometers may be more accurate.     

Local Oceanic Vertical Deflection Determination with Gravity Data Along a Profile

Deflections of the vertical (DOVs) over oceans cannot be directly measured, which restricts their applications. A local covariance function of anomalous potential is put forward in this paper in conjunction with the least-squares collocation (LSC) method to compute the oceanic DOVs utilization of oceanic gravity data along a profile. The covariance functions of gravity field quantities have been derived directly as functions of x, y and z without the need to introduce coordinate transformations corresponding to along- or cross-profile components. In the proposed methodology, gravity data along a profile were used to calculate the residual gravity anomaly using the remove-compute-restore technique. The residual gravity anomaly was used to calculate the parameters of the proposed covariance function of the local anomalous gravity field, which was used in the LSC to compute the residual DOVs along the profile. The residual DOVs added model DOVs to recover the DOVs along the profile. The results of a simulation experiment prove that the proposed methodology is feasible and effective.     

Improvement in the Determination of the Marine Geoid by Estimating the Bathymetry from Altimetry and Depth Soundings

Abstract

The contribution of bathymetry to the estimation of gravity field related quantities is investigated in an extended test area in the Mediterranean Sea. The region is located southwest of the island of Crete, Greece, bounded between 33^? ≤ ? ≤ 35^? and 15^? ≤ λ ≤ 25^?. Gravity anomalies from the KMS99 gravity field and shipborne depth soundings are used with a priori statistical characteristics of depths in a least-squares collocation procedure to estimate a new bathymetry model. Two different global bathymetry models, namely JGP95E and Sandwell and Smith V8, are used to derive the depth a priori statistical information, while the estimated model is compared against both the global ones and the shipborne depth soundings to assess whether there is an improvement. Various marine geoid models are estimated using ERS1 and GEOSAT Geodetic Mission altimetry and shipborne gravity data. In that process, the effect of the bathymetry is computed using both the estimated and the original depths through a residual terrain modeling reduction. The TOPEX/Poseidon Sea Surface Heights, known for their high accuracy and precision, and the GEOMED solution for the geoid in the Mediterranean are used as control for the validation of the new geoid models and to assess the improvement that the estimated depths offer to geoid modeling. The results show that the newly estimated bathymetry agrees better (by about 30 to 300 m) with the shipborne depth soundings and provides smoother residual geoid heights and gravity anomalies (by about 8–20%) than those from global models. Finally, the achieved accuracy in geoid modeling ranges between 6 and 10 cm (1σ).     

Global ocean circulation patterns based on seasat altimeter data and the GEML2 gravity field

The Seasat altimeter data has been completely adjusted by a crossing arc technique to reduce the crossover discrepancies to approximately ±30 cm in five regional adjustments. This data was then used to create sea surface heights at 1° intersections in the ocean areas with respect to the GRS80 ellipsoid. These heights excluded the direct tidal effects but included the induced permanent deformation. A geoid corresponding to these sea surface heights was computed, based on the potential coefficients of the GEML2 gravity field up to degree 6, augmented by Rapp's coefficients up to degree 180. The differences between sea surface heights and the geoid were computed to give approximate estimates of sea surface topography. These estimates are dominated by errors in both sea surface heights and geoid undulations. To optimally determine sea surface topography a spherical harmonic analysis of raw estimates was carried out and the series was further truncated at degree 6, giving estimates with minimum wavelengths on the order of 6000 km. The direction of current flow can be computed on a global basis using the spherical harmonic expansion of the sea surface topography. Ths has been done, not only for Seasat/GEML2 estimates, but also using the recent dynamic topography estimates of Levitus. The results of the two solutions are very similar and agree well with the major circulation features of the oceans.     

基于Grace月重力场模型的稳态地球重力场模型分析

基于106个月的Grace（gravity recovery and climate experiment）月重力场模型（120阶次）,消除了月重力场的月、季度及年度变化,得到了稳态的地球重力场模型（Grace_sta）。在2～120阶次之间,Grace_sta与已有高阶重力场EGM2008及EGM96三个模型的阶方差是一致的。在2～100阶次之间,Grace_sta模型误差阶方差要小于EGM2008与EGM96误差阶方差。在全球范围内,Grace_sta重力场的大地水准面与EGM2008相应阶次的大地水准面标准差约为3cm,与EGM96模型大地水准面差异则高达52cm。结果表明,Grace_sta足可以取代EGM2008重力场模型2～100阶次的低阶部分,新得到的稳态重力场模型可为海面地形分析提供了可靠的参考场。     

重力异常延拓计算积分半径的选择及远区效应

基于球谐展开和两分量模型,推导了基于Poisson积分方程的重力异常延拓的远区效应截断误差的函数表达;研究了近区半径、移去重力场阶次、延拓高度与远区效应截断误差之间的相互关系.数值分析表明,当延拓高度为1 000m时,移去360阶的重力场模型,积分半径大于0.5°能保证远区效应截断误差可以忽略;当移去2160阶的重力场...     

Improvement in the Determination of the Marine Geoid by Estimating the Bathymetry from Altimetry and Depth Soundings

The contribution of bathymetry to the estimation of gravity field related quantities is investigated in an extended test area in the Mediterranean Sea. The region is located southwest of the island of Crete, Greece, bounded between 33^ˆ ≤ ϕ ≤ 35^ˆ and 15^ˆ ≤ λ ≤ 25^ˆ. Gravity anomalies from the KMS99 gravity field and shipborne depth soundings are used with a priori statistical characteristics of depths in a least-squares collocation procedure to estimate a new bathymetry model. Two different global bathymetry models, namely JGP95E and Sandwell and Smith V8, are used to derive the depth a priori statistical information, while the estimated model is compared against both the global ones and the shipborne depth soundings to assess whether there is an improvement. Various marine geoid models are estimated using ERS1 and GEOSAT Geodetic Mission altimetry and shipborne gravity data. In that process, the effect of the bathymetry is computed using both the estimated and the original depths through a residual terrain modeling reduction. The TOPEX/Poseidon Sea Surface Heights, known for their high accuracy and precision, and the GEOMED solution for the geoid in the Mediterranean are used as control for the validation of the new geoid models and to assess the improvement that the estimated depths offer to geoid modeling. The results show that the newly estimated bathymetry agrees better (by about 30 to 300 m) with the shipborne depth soundings and provides smoother residual geoid heights and gravity anomalies (by about 8-20%) than those from global models. Finally, the achieved accuracy in geoid modeling ranges between 6 and 10 cm (1σ).     

Geoid from geopotential model in the Taiwan area

The geoid undulation on GRS80 in the Taiwan area at half‐degree grid points has been calculated using the reduced 30’ × 30’ block mean gravity anomalies and the OSU91A geopotential coefficient set up to degree and order 360. The OSU91A results have been used to compare with WGS84, CEM10C, and OSU86F geoid undulations determined in 18 first‐order triangulation stations of the Taiwan Geodetic Datum 1980 (TGD80). Comparisons have also been made between these free‐air anomalies determined from OSU91A, and terrestrial gravity anomalies. It has been found that the average difference between the OSU91A model‐derived, and 243 actual point free‐air anomalies is 16.8 ± 48.0 mgal. It has also been found that more reliable and dense terrestrial gravity data are needed, both for terrestrial observations and for the OSU91A model, to achieve the very high‐precision geoid on GRS80 in the area of study.     

On the Impact of Mispointing Error and Hamming Filtering on Altimeter Waveform Retracking and Skewness Retrieval

An adequate conceptual definition of the geoid is essential for the unambiguous combination of satellite tracking data, satellite al‐timetry, and surface gravity measurements to obtain sea surface topography. The factors influencing the selection of a particular level surface of the earth's gravity field include the purpose(s) for which the geoid is to be used at the 5‐cm level, and the types of data to be used in achieving these objectives. The principal reasons for high precision determinations of the shape of the geoid are: the determination of sea surface topography for applications in oceanography; and the unification of leveling datums with a resolution equivalent to that of first order geodetic leveling. A conceptual definition of the geoid acceptable to oceanographers would be: The geoid for a selected epoch of measurement is that level surface of the earth's gravity field in relation to which the average non‐tidal (or quasi‐stationary) sea surface topography is zero as sampled globally in ocean regions. In the geodetic context, it would be convenient, though not essential, to modify this definition in such a way that the global sea surface topography had zero mean as sampled for evaluations of the geodetic boundary value problem. In either case, a basis exists for unifying all leveling datums serving areas in excess of 10⁶ km², using either gravity anomaly data for the regions or precise determinations of position at first order bench marks. Unfavorable signal‐to‐noise ratios can pose problems when dealing with datums serving smaller areas. Elevation and gravity data banks must be correctly referenced to leveling datums prior to use in sea surface topography determinations. A recent attempt to upgrade the Australian gravity anomaly data bank indicates that all current data banks of this type are inadequate for the task. It is unlikely that time variations in the radial position of the geoid as conceptually defined above, will exceed ±5 cm per century, provided the rate of earth expansion was less than 1 part in 10¹⁰ yr^‐l and there is no dramatic change in the present rate of secular change in Mean Sea Level.     

High resolution gravimetric geoid heights and gravimetric vertical deflections of Europe including marine areas

Gravimetric geoid heights and gravimetric vertical deflections have been detemined for Europe including the Mediterranean Sea, North Sea, Norwegian Sea, Baltic Sea and parts of the North Atlantic Ocean in a 12′×20′ grid. The computation has been carried out by least squares spectral combination using closed integral formulas, combining 104 000 mean free air gravity anomalies in 6′×10′ blocks, 12 000 mean free air gravity anomalies in 1⁰×1⁰ blocks and the sherical harmonic model GEM9. The precision of the computed geoid heights has been estimated to ±1 m, the precision of the computed vertical deflections has been estimated to ±2″. Comparisons of the gravimetric geoid heights and vertical deflections with a number of other solutions have been carried out, confirming the precision estimation.     

Calculation of geoid undulations and gravity anomalies in the Northwest Pacific by using the Topex/Poseidon and Geosat altimeter data

INTRODUCTIONThegeoidistheiargeopotentials~econfidingmostlywiththemeanseasurfaceandisdenotedastheheightrelativetotheidealelliPSes~eoftheearth.Thegeoidundulationsinglobalaceareupto100m.TheunevenstructureOftheearthgivesrisetotheunevenfeatureofthecitysot...     

基于Clenshaw求和法的重力场元计算

重力场计算中,经常需要计算以有限阶球谐级数表示的重力场元。常规计算中除需存储(N 1)^2个系数值外,还需迭代计算出(N 2)(N 1)／2个完全正常化勒让德函数值。Clenshaw求和法不需要计算单个球谐函数值而直接计算级数和,因而计算速度上有所提高。总结了球谐函数的零阶导数级数和,并推导了一阶导数级数和。通过数值试验,对于任意点的重力场元,使用C1enshaw求和法计算零阶导数球谐函数和比常规方法节省一半的时间,一阶导数球谐函数之和的计算速度提高幅度不大,并分析了其中的原因。     

Determining the Gravitational Gradient Tensor Using Satellite-Altimetry Observations over the Persian Gulf

With the advent of satellite altimetry in 1973, new scientific applications became available in oceanography, climatology, and marine geosciences. Moreover, satellite altimetry provides a significant source of information facilitated in the geoid determination with a high accuracy and spatial resolution. The information from this approach is a sufficient alternate for marine gravity data in the high-frequency modeling of the marine gravity field quantities. The gravity gradient tensor, consisting of the second-order partial derivatives of the gravity potential, provides more localized information than gravity measurements. Marine gravity observations always carry a high noise level due to environmental effects. Moreover, it is not possible to model the high frequencies of the Earth's gravity field in a global scale using these observations. In this article, we introduce a novel approach for a determination of the gravity gradient tensor at sea level using satellite altimetry. Two numerical techniques are applied and compared for this purpose. In particular, we facilitate the radial basis functions (RBFs) and the harmonic splines. As a case study, the gravitational gradient tensor is determined and results presented in the Persian Gulf. Validation of results reveals that the solution of the harmonic spline approach has a better agreement with a theoretical zero-value of the trace of the Marussi gravitational gradient tensor. However, the data-adaptive technique in the RBF approach allows more efficient selection of the parameters and 3-D configuration of RBFs compared to a fixed parameterization by the harmonic splines.     

Comparison of Satellite Altimetric Gravity and Global Geopotential Models with Shipborne Gravity in the Red Sea

The determination of high-resolution geoid for marine regions requires the integration of gravity data provided by different sources, e.g. global geopotential models, satellite altimetry, and shipborne gravimetric observations. Shipborne gravity data, acquired over a long time, comprises the short-wavelengths gravitation signal. This paper aims to produce a consistent gravity field over the Red Sea region to be used for geoid modelling. Both, the leave-one-out cross-validation and Kriging prediction techniques were chosen to ensure that the observed shipborne gravity data are consistent as well as free of gross-errors. A confidence level equivalent to 95.4% was decided to filter the observed shipborne data, while the cross-validation algorithm was repeatedly applied until the standard deviation of the residuals between the observed and estimated values are less than 1.5 mGal, which led to the elimination of about 17.7% of the shipborne gravity dataset. A comparison between the shipborne gravity data with DTU13 and SSv23.1 satellite altimetry-derived gravity models is done and reported. The corresponding results revealed that altimetry models almost have identical data content when compared one another, where the DTU13 gave better results with a mean and standard deviation of ?2.40 and 8.71 mGal, respectively. A statistical comparison has been made between different global geopotential models (GGMs) and shipborne gravity data. The Spectral Enhancement Method was applied to overcome the existing spectral gap between the GGMs and shipborne gravity data. EGM2008 manifested the best results with differences characterised with a mean of 1.35 mGal and a standard deviation of 11.11 mGal. Finally, the least-squares collocation (LSC) was implemented to combine the shipborne gravity data with DTU13 in order to create a unique and consistent gravity field over the Red Sea with no data voids. The combined data were independently tested using a total number of 95 randomly chosen shipborne gravity stations. The comparison between the extracted shipborne gravity data and DTU13 altimetry anomalies before and after applying the LSC revealed that a significant improvement is procurable from the combined dataset, in which the mean and standard deviation of the differences dropped from ?3.60 and 9.31 mGal to ?0.39 and 2.04 mGal, respectively.     

缔和勒让德函数的计算和球谐级数的截断误差分析

首先就几种新近常用的递推计算超高阶次缔合勒让德函数值的方法进行分析,给出改进后的标准向前列递推法与标准向前列递推法、跨阶次递推法所得球谐级数式的值的相对误差。数值试验表明,改进后的标准向前列递推法与跨阶次递推法所得直到2700阶球谐级数值的相对误差不超过10-13,而标准向前列递推法超过1900阶次时已不可使用。其次估计了不同阶次球谐级数的截断误差,说明如果要获得更高的精度,必须顾及球谐级数的超高阶项。     

The Role of Multi-Mission ERS Altimetry in the Determination of the Marine Geoid in the Azores

This study concerns the determination of a regional geoid model in the North Atlantic area surrounding the Azores islands by combining multi-mission altimetry from the ERS (European Remote Sensing) satellites and surface gravity data. A high resolution mean sea surface, named AZOMSS99, has been derived using altimeter data from ERS-1 and ERS-2 35-day cycles, spanning a period of about four years, and from ERS-1 geodetic mission. Special attention has been paid to data processing of points around the islands due to land contamination on some of the geophysical corrections. A gravimetric geoid has been computed from all available surface gravity, including land and sea observations acquired during an observation campaign that took place in the Azores in October 1997 in the scope of a European and a Portuguese project. Free air gravity anomalies were derived by altimetric inversion of the mean sea surface heights. These were used to fill the large gaps in the surface gravity and combined solutions were computed using both types of data. The gravimetric and combined solutions have been compared with the mean sea surface and GPS (Global Positioning System)-levelling derived geoid undulations in five islands. It is shown that the inclusion of altimeter data improves geoid accuracy by about one order of magnitude. Combined geoid solutions have been obtained with an accuracy of better than one decimetre.     

Oceanic gravity by analytical inversion of Hotine's formula

An analytical inversion of the Hotine formula is developed using fast Fourier transform techniques. Detailed mathematical derivations are used to explain the concepts behind the inverse transformation. Three modifications of the analytical inversion of the Hotine formula are compared and tested using both synthetic data from the OSU91A geopotential model and real GEOSAT altimetry data from the Exact Repeat Mission. The stability of this inverse Hotine approach is investigated using simulated data, and numerical tests are done to quantify the stability of this approach. The approach seems to be numerically stable without employing any stabilization technique. Estimated gravity information from GEOSTAT altimetry data is compared to marine gravity data from shipboard measurements in the Orphan Knoll area. The standard deviations and mean values of the differences between satellite and marine gravity disturbances are 8.2 and 2.9 mGal for the planar approximation, 9.2 and 3.7 mGal for the spherical approximation, and 9.5 and 1.9 mGal for the Molodenskii‐like approximation, respectively, indicating that latitude‐dependent errors affect the latter two approximations. Such errors could be eliminated by performing the calculations by the rigorous one‐dimensional fast Fourier transform (FFT) technique, and any data noise could be filtered out by utilizing covariance knowledge about the input geoid undulations and their errors. Simulation studies also showed that the accuracy of the techniques (for all approximations) can reach a root‐mean‐square (RMS) level of only a few mGal when proper treatment of FFT edge effects is employed and a rather wide area of results is disregarded around the edges.     

The Role of Multi-Mission ERS Altimetry in the Determination of the Marine Geoid in the Azores

This study concerns the determination of a regional geoid model in the North Atlantic area surrounding the Azores islands by combining multi-mission altimetry from the ERS (European Remote Sensing) satellites and surface gravity data. A high resolution mean sea surface, named AZOMSS99, has been derived using altimeter data from ERS-1 and ERS-2 35-day cycles, spanning a period of about four years, and from ERS-1 geodetic mission. Special attention has been paid to data processing of points around the islands due to land contamination on some of the geophysical corrections. A gravimetric geoid has been computed from all available surface gravity, including land and sea observations acquired during an observation campaign that took place in the Azores in October 1997 in the scope of a European and a Portuguese project. Free air gravity anomalies were derived by altimetric inversion of the mean sea surface heights. These were used to fill the large gaps in the surface gravity and combined solutions were computed using both types of data. The gravimetric and combined solutions have been compared with the mean sea surface and GPS (Global Positioning System)-levelling derived geoid undulations in five islands. It is shown that the inclusion of altimeter data improves geoid accuracy by about one order of magnitude. Combined geoid solutions have been obtained with an accuracy of better than one decimetre.