Regional geoid computation by least squares modified Hotine’s formula with additive corrections

Geoid and quasigeoid modelling from gravity anomalies by the method of least squares modification of Stokes’s formula with additive corrections is adapted for the usage with gravity disturbances and Hotine’s formula. The biased, unbiased and optimum versions of least squares modification are considered. Equations are presented for the four additive corrections that account for the combined (direct plus indirect) effect of downward continuation (DWC), topographic, atmospheric and ellipsoidal corrections in geoid or quasigeoid modelling. The geoid or quasigeoid modelling scheme by the least squares modified Hotine formula is numerically verified, analysed and compared to the Stokes counterpart in a heterogeneous study area. The resulting geoid models and the additive corrections computed both for use with Stokes’s or Hotine’s formula differ most in high topography areas. Over the study area (reaching almost 2 km in altitude), the approximate geoid models (before the additive corrections) differ by 7 mm on average with a 3 mm standard deviation (SD) and a maximum of 1.3 cm. The additive corrections, out of which only the DWC correction has a numerically significant difference, improve the agreement between respective geoid or quasigeoid models to an average difference of 5 mm with a 1 mm SD and a maximum of 8 mm.     

Precise orbit determination of the Sentinel-3A altimetry satellite using ambiguity-fixed GPS carrier phase observations

The Sentinel-3 mission takes routine measurements of sea surface heights and depends crucially on accurate and precise knowledge of the spacecraft. Orbit determination with a targeted uncertainty of less than 2 cm in radial direction is supported through an onboard Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, a Doppler Orbitography and Radiopositioning Integrated by Satellite instrument, and a complementary laser retroreflector for satellite laser ranging. Within this study, the potential of ambiguity fixing for GPS-only precise orbit determination (POD) of the Sentinel-3 spacecraft is assessed. A refined strategy for carrier phase generation out of low-level measurements is employed to cope with half-cycle ambiguities in the tracking of the Sentinel-3 GPS receiver that have so far inhibited ambiguity-fixed POD solutions. Rather than explicitly fixing double-difference phase ambiguities with respect to a network of terrestrial reference stations, a single-receiver ambiguity resolution concept is employed that builds on dedicated GPS orbit, clock, and wide-lane bias products provided by the CNES/CLS (Centre National d’Études Spatiales/Collecte Localisation Satellites) analysis center of the International GNSS Service. Compared to float ambiguity solutions, a notably improved precision can be inferred from laser ranging residuals. These decrease from roughly 9 mm down to 5 mm standard deviation for high-grade stations on average over low and high elevations. Furthermore, the ambiguity-fixed orbits offer a substantially improved cross-track accuracy and help to identify lateral offsets in the GPS antenna or center-of-mass (CoM) location. With respect to altimetry, the improved orbit precision also benefits the global consistency of sea surface measurements. However, modeling of the absolute height continues to rely on proper dynamical models for the spacecraft motion as well as ground calibrations for the relative position of the altimeter reference point and the CoM.     

Multicyclic sediment transfer along and across convergent plate boundaries (Barbados,Lesser Antilles)

The main source of siliciclastic sediment in the Barbados accretionary prism is off‐scraped quartzose to feldspatho‐litho‐quartzose metasedimentaclastic turbidites, ultimately supplied from South America chiefly via the Orinoco fluvio‐deltaic system. Modern sand on Barbados island is either quartzose with depleted heavy‐mineral suites recycled from Cenozoic turbidites and including epidote, zircon, tourmaline, andalusite, garnet, staurolite and chloritoid, or calcareous and derived from Pleistocene coral reefs. The ubiquitous occurrence of clinopyroxene and hypersthene, associated with green‐brown kaersutitic hornblende in the north or olivine in the south, points to reworking of ash‐fall tephra erupted from andesitic (St Lucia) and basaltic (St Vincent) volcanic centres in the Lesser Antilles arc. Modern sediments on Barbados island and those shed by larger accretionary prisms such as the Indo‐Burman Ranges and Andaman‐Nicobar Ridge define the distinctive mineralogical signature of Subduction Complex Provenance, which is invariably composite. Detritus recycled from accreted turbidites and oceanic mudrocks is mixed in various proportions with detritus from the adjacent volcanic arc or carbonate reefs widely developed at tropical latitudes. Ophiolitic detritus, locally prominent on the Andaman Islands, is absent on Barbados, where the prism formed above a westward subduction zone with a shallow décollement plane. The four‐dimensional complexities inherent with multicyclic sediment dispersal along and across convergent plate boundaries require quantitative provenance analysis as a basic tool in paleogeographic reconstructions. Such analysis provides the link between faraway factories of detritus and depositional sinks, as well as clues on subduction geometry and the nature of associated growing orogenic belts, and even information on climate, atmospheric circulation and weathering intensity in source regions.     

The celestial mechanics approach: application to data of the GRACE mission

The celestial mechanics approach (CMA) has its roots in the Bernese GPS software and was extensively used for determining the orbits of high-orbiting satellites. The CMA was extended to determine the orbits of Low Earth Orbiting satellites (LEOs) equipped with GPS receivers and of constellations of LEOs equipped in addition with inter-satellite links. In recent years the CMA was further developed and used for gravity field determination. The CMA was developed by the Astronomical Institute of the University of Bern (AIUB). The CMA is presented from the theoretical perspective in (Beutler et al. 2010). The key elements of the CMA are illustrated here using data from 50 days of GPS, K-Band, and accelerometer observations gathered by the Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission in 2007. We study in particular the impact of (1) analyzing different observables [Global Positioning System (GPS) observations only, inter-satellite measurements only], (2) analyzing a combination of observations of different types on the level of the normal equation systems (NEQs), (3) using accelerometer data, (4) different orbit parametrizations (short-arc, reduced-dynamic) by imposing different constraints on the stochastic orbit parameters, and (5) using either the inter-satellite ranges or their time derivatives. The so-called GRACE baseline, i.e., the achievable accuracy of the GRACE gravity field for a particular solution strategy, is established for the CMA.     

Tracing tsunami signatures of the ad 551 and ad 1303 tsunamis at the Gulf of Kyparissia (Peloponnese,Greece) using direct push in situ sensing techniques combined with geophysical studies

The western Peloponnese was repeatedly hit by major tsunami impacts during historical times as reported by historical accounts and recorded in earthquake and tsunami catalogues. Geological signatures of past tsunami impacts have also been found in many coastal geological archives. During the past years, abundant geomorphological and sedimentary evidence of repeated Holocene tsunami landfall was found between Cape Katakolo and the city of Kyparissia. Moreover, neotectonic studies revealed strong crust uplift along regional faults with amounts of uplift between 13 m and 30 m since the mid-Holocene. This study focuses on the potential of direct push in situ sensing techniques to detect tsunami sediments along the Gulf of Kyparissia. Direct push measurements were conducted on the landward shores of the Kaiafa Lagoon and the former Mouria Lagoon from which sedimentary and microfaunal evidence for tsunami landfall are already known. Direct push methods helped to decipher in situ high-resolution stratigraphic records of allochthonous sand sheets that are used to document different kinds of sedimentological and geomorphological characteristics of high-energy inundation, such as abrupt increases in grain size, integration of muddy rip-up clasts and fining upward sequences which are representative of different tsunami inundation pulses. These investigations were completed by sediment coring as a base for local calibration of geophysical direct push parameters. Surface-based electrical resistivity tomography and seismic data with highly resolved vertical direct push datasets and sediment core data were all coupled in order to improve the quality of the geophysical models. Details of this methodological approach, new in palaeotsunami research, are presented and discussed, especially with respect to the question of how the obtained results may help to facilitate tracing tsunami signatures in the sedimentary record and deciphering geomorphological characteristics of past tsunami inundation. Using direct push techniques and based on sedimentary data, sedimentary signatures of two young tsunami impacts that hit the Kaiafa Lagoon were detected. Radiocarbon age control allowed the identification of these tsunami layers as candidates for the ad 551 and ad 1303 earthquake and tsunami events. For these events, there is reliable historical data on major damage on infrastructure in western Greece and on the Peloponnese. At the former Mouria Lagoon, corroborating tsunami traces were found; however, in this case it is difficult to decide whether these signatures were caused by the ad 551 or the ad 1303 event.     

Single-station narrowband ranging of active storm cells without lightning-type discrimination

We present a statistical technique for ranging the edges of active storms cell using a very simple narrowband receiver tuned to 1 MHz (the MW band in radio, just below HF frequencies). We show that a principle based on the “30–30 rule” can be used to define practical warning levels. From the measurements carried out in Finland, we show that the narrowband source intensities of cloud-to-ground lightning vary log-normally; this results in a ranging uncertainty of about 20%, which can be reduced if a suitable floating average is used. Based on one storm, we suggest that the differences between intra-cloud and ground-to-cloud signals at 1 MHz are small enough to make an IC–CG discrimination. Eliminating such a discrimination allows all lightning impulses to be used in the range and improves the accuracy, since more flashes are then available as inputs into the distance-estimation algorithm. Although the system is only validated against a single storm, we provide definitions by which this and other narrowband detectors could be independently verified; existing narrowband devices have not been verified in this manner, due in part to a lack of such standardized definitions.