德艺双馨的大地测量学家胡明城

胡明城先生是著名的大地测量学家,他热爱祖国,从事大地测量工作近70年。1948年从美国海军天文台和海岸大地测量局进修回国,长期担任外国测绘科学信息的研究,发表了大量论文和译述,主要著作有《等高观测手册》、《现代大地测量学》、《现代大地测量学的理论及其应用》等。2007年时逢他90岁诞辰,本文介绍他在我国大地测量学方面的贡献。     

抓住机遇,建立服务于防震减灾事业的现代大地测量学研究-实验-装备体系

“现代大地测量学”是当今最有活力、发展最快的学科之一,已成为解决地球科学基本问题必不可缺的学科,并被认为是地震科学和地震预报的支柱性学科之一。根据地震科学发展的趋势和国家防震减灾的目标和需求,必须抓住机遇,夯实基础,发挥中国地震局系统的大地测量学科与地球观测技术优势,尽快建立服务于防震减灾事业的现代大地测量学研究——实验——装备体系。     

地面扰动重力垂直梯度的确定

鉴于扰动重力垂直梯度在大地测量和物探中有重要作用,在未直接测量的情况下,对如何由地面重力异常及地形数据求取扰动垂直梯度进行了研究和分析,认为在被研点附近要求重力点分布密集,且精度不低于1×10-6ms-2;对中央区域积分奇异性问题也作了讨论;此外,扰动重力垂直梯度如何在大地测量和地球物理中进一步得到应用,以及为何用扰动重力垂直梯度代替重力异常垂直梯度也给予了简明的论述.     

Accurate GPS measurement of the location and orientation of a floating platform

Abstract

This article describes the design and initial tests of the GPS portion of a system for making seafloor geodesy measurements. In the planned system, GPS antennas on a floating platform will be used to measure the location of an acoustic transducer, attached below the platform, which interrogates an array of transponders on the seafloor. Since the GPS antennas are necessarily some distance above the transducer, a short‐baseline GPS interferometer consisting of three antennas is used to measure the platform's orientation.

A preliminary test of several crucial elements of the system was performed at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) in December 1989. The test involved a fixed antenna on the pier and a second antenna floating on a buoy about 80 m away. GPS measurements of the vertical component of this baseline, analyzed independently by two groups using different software, agree with each other and with an independent measurement within a centimeter.

The first test of an integrated GPS/acoustic system took place in the Santa Cruz Basin off the coast of southern California in May 1990. In this test a much larger buoy, designed and built at SIO, was equipped with three GPS antennas and an acoustic transducer that interrogated a transponder on the ocean floor. Preliminary analysis indicates that the horizontal position of the transponder can be determined with a precision of about a centimeter. Further analysis will be required to investigate the magnitude of systematic errors.     

Strain accumulation along an oblique plate boundary: the Reykjanes Peninsula, southwest Iceland

We use annual GPS observations on the Reykjanes Peninsula (RP) from 2000 to 2006 to generate maps of surface velocities and strain rates across the active plate boundary. We find that the surface deformation on the RP is consistent with oblique plate boundary motion on a regional scale, although considerable temporal and spatial strain rate variations are observed within the plate boundary zone. A small, but consistent increase in eastward velocity is observed at several stations on the southern part of the peninsula, compared to the 1993–1998 time period. The 2000–2006 velocities can be modelled by approximating the plate boundary as a series of vertical dislocations with left-lateral motion and opening. For the RP plate boundary we estimate left-lateral motion  18⁺⁴₋₃ mm yr⁻¹  and opening of  7⁺³₋₂ mm yr⁻¹  below a locking depth of  7⁺¹₋₂ km  . The resulting deep motion of  20⁺⁴₋₃ mm yr⁻¹  in the direction of  N(100⁺⁸₋₆)°E  agrees well with the predicted relative North America–Eurasia rate. We calculate the areal and shear strain rates using velocities from two periods: 1993–1998 and 2000–2006. The deep motion along the plate boundary results in left-lateral shear strain rates, which are perturbed by shallow deformation due to the 1994–1998 inflation and elevated seismicity in the Hengill–Hrómundartindur volcanic system, geothermal fluid extraction at the Svartsengi power plant, and possibly earthquake activity on the central part of the peninsula.     

Instantaneous deformation from continuous GPS: contributions from quasi-periodic loads

Continuous GPS (CGPS) coordinate time-series are known to experience repeating deformation signals with seasonal and other periods. It is unlikely that these signals represent perfect sinusoids with temporally constant amplitude. We develop an analysis method that accommodates temporal variations in the amplitudes of sinusoidal signals. We apply the method to simulated coordinate time-series to numerically explore the potential consequences of neglecting decadal variation in amplitude of annual motions on the residual-error spectra of CGPS measurements, as well as potential bias in estimates for secular site velocity. We find that secular velocity bias can be appreciable for shorter time-series, and that residual-error time-series of longer duration may contain significant power in a broad band centred on semi-annual frequency if temporal variation in the amplitude of annual motions is not accounted for in the model used to reduce the observations to residuals. It may be difficult to differentiate the bandpass filtered signature of mismodelled loading signals from power-law noise, using residual-error spectra for shorter time-series. We provide an example application to a ∼9-yr coordinate time-series for a CGPS station located in southern California at Carbon Creek Control Structure (CCCS), which is known to experience large amplitude seasonal motions associated with the Santa Ana aquifer system.     

地球参考系的基本理论和方法研究进展

地球参考系的研究无论在基础科学,还是在国民经济建设中都具有重要的意义。随着空间大地测量技术(VLBI、LLR、SLR和GPS等)的发展,对地球参考系也提出了越来越高的要求。本文详细地介绍了地球参考系的定义,建立和维持的基本理论与方法,综述了地球参考系目前的发展状况和存在的问题。本文可为从事地球参考系研究的学者提供一定的参考。