A model for adjustment of differential gravity measurements with simultaneous gravimeter calibration

 A mathematical model is proposed for adjustment of differential or relative gravity measurements, involving simultaneously instrumental readings, coefficients of the calibration function, and gravity values of selected base stations. Tests were performed with LaCoste and Romberg model G gravimeter measurements for a set of base stations located along a north–south line with 1750 mGal gravity range. This line was linked to nine control stations, where absolute gravity values had been determined by the free-fall method, with an accuracy better than 10 μGal. The model shows good consistence and stability. Results show the possibility of improving the calibration functions of gravimeters, as well as a better estimation of the gravity values, due to the flexibility admitted to the values of the calibration coefficients. Received: 15 November 1999 / Accepted: 31 October 2000     

Deriving rules from activity diary data: A learning algorithm and results of computer experiments

 Activity-based models consider travel as a derived demand from the activities households need to conduct in space and time. Over the last 15 years, computational or rule-based models of activity scheduling have gained increasing interest in time-geography and transportation research. This paper argues that a lack of techniques for deriving rules from empirical data hinders the further development of rule-based systems in this area. To overcome this problem, this paper develops and tests an algorithm for inductively deriving rules from activity-diary data. The decision table formalism is used to exhaustively represent the theoretically possible decision rules that individuals may use in sequencing a given set of activities. Actual activity patterns of individuals are supplied to the system as examples. In an incremental learning process, the system progressively improves on the selection of rules used for reproducing the examples. Computer experiments based on simulated data are performed to fine-tune rule selection and rule value update functions. The results suggest that the system is effective and fairly robust for parameter settings. It is concluded, therefore, that the proposed approach opens up possibilities to derive empirically tested rule-based models of activity scheduling. Follow-up research will be concerned with testing the system on empirical data. Received: 31 January 2001 / Accepted: 13 September 2001     

Local geoid determination combining gravity disturbances and GPS/levelling: a case study in the Lake Nasser area, Aswan, Egypt

 The use of GPS for height control in an area with existing levelling data requires the determination of a local geoid and the bias between the local levelling datum and the one implicitly defined when computing the local geoid. If only scarse gravity data are available, the heights of new data may be collected rapidly by determining the ellipsoidal height by GPS and not using orthometric heights. Hence the geoid determination has to be based on gravity disturbances contingently combined with gravity anomalies. Furthermore, existing GPS/levelling data may also be used in the geoid determination if a suitable general gravity field modelling method (such as least-squares collocation, LSC) is applied. A comparison has been made in the Aswan Dam area between geoids determined using fast Fourier transform (FFT) with gravity disturbances exclusively and LSC using only the gravity disturbances and the disturbances combined with GPS/levelling data. The EGM96 spherical harmonic model was in all cases used in a remove–restore mode. A total of 198 gravity disturbances spaced approximately 3 km apart were used, as well as 35 GPS/levelling points in the vicinity and on the Aswan Dam. No data on the Nasser Lake were available. This gave difficulties when using FFT, which requires the use of gridded data. When using exclusively the gravity disturbances, the agreement between the GPS/levelling data were 0.71 ± 0.17 m for FFT and 0.63 ± 0.15 for LSC. When combining gravity disturbances and GPS/levelling, the LSC error estimate was ±0.10 m. In the latter case two bias parameters had to be introduced to account for a possible levelling datum difference between the levelling on the dam and that on the adjacent roads. Received: 14 August 2000 / Accepted: 28 February 2001     

Improvements in height datum transfer expected from the GOCE mission

 One of the aims of the Earth Explorer Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation (GOCE) mission is to provide global and regional models of the Earth's gravity field and of the geoid with high spatial resolution and accuracy. Using the GOCE error model, simulation studies were performed in order to estimate the accuracy of datum transfer in different areas of the Earth. The results showed that with the GOCE error model, the standard deviation of the height anomaly differences is about one order of magnitude better than the corresponding value with the EGM96 error model. As an example, the accuracy of the vertical datum transfer from the tide gauge of Amsterdam to New York was estimated equal to 57 cm when the EGM96 error model was used, while in the case of GOCE error model this accuracy was increased to 6 cm. The geoid undulation difference between the two places is about 76.5 m. Scaling the GOCE errors to the local gravity variance, the estimated accuracy varied between 3 and 7 cm, depending on the scaling model. Received: 1 March 2000 / Accepted: 21 February 2001     

Atmospheric, oceanic and hydrological contributions to seasonal variations in length of day

 The annual and semiannual residuals derived in the axial angular momentum budget of the solid Earth–atmosphere system reflect significant signals. They must be caused by further excitation sources. Since, in particular, the contribution for the wind term from the atmospheric layer between the 10 and 0.3 hPa levels to the seasonal variations in length of day (LOD) is still missing, it is necessary to extend the top level into the upper stratosphere up to 0.3 hPa. Under the conservation of the total angular momentum of the entire Earth, variations in the oceanic angular momentum (OAM) and the hydrological angular momentum (HAM) are further significant excitation sources at seasonal time scales. Focusing on other contributions to the Earth's axial angular momentum budget, the following data are used in this study: axial atmospheric angular momentum (AAM) data derived for the 10–0.3 hPa layer from 1991 to 1997 for computing the missing wind effects; axial OAM functions as generated by oceanic general circulation models (GCMs), namely for the ECHAM3 and the MICOM models, available from 1975 to 1994 and from 1992 to 1994, respectively, for computing the oceanic contributions to LOD changes, and, concerning the HAM variations, the seasonal estimates of the hydrological contribution as derived by Chao and O'Connor [(1988) Geophys J 94: 263–270]. Using vector representation, it is shown that the vectors achieve a close balance in the global axial angular momentum budget within the estimated uncertainties of the momentum quantities on seasonal time scales. Received: 6 April 2000 / Accepted: 13 December 2000     

New analytical and numerical approaches for geopotential modeling

 The standard analytical approach which is applied for constructing geopotential models OSU86 and earlier ones, is based on reducing the boundary value equation to a sphere enveloping the Earth and then solving it directly with respect to the potential coefficients _n,m . In an alternative procedure, developed by Jekeli and used for constructing the models OSU91 and EGM96, at first an ellipsoidal harmonic series is developed for the geopotential and then its coefficients _n,m ^e are transformed to the unknown _n,m . The second solution is more exact, but much more complicated. The standard procedure is modified and a new simple integral formula is derived for evaluating the potential coefficients. The efficiency of the standard and new procedures is studied numerically. In these solutions the same input data are used as for constructing high-degree parts of the EGM96 models. From two sets of _n,m (n≤360,|m|≤n), derived by the standard and new approaches, different spectral characteristics of the gravity anomaly and the geoid undulation are estimated and then compared with similar characteristics evaluated by Jekeli's approach (`etalon' solution). The new solution appears to be very close to Jekeli's, as opposed to the standard solution. The discrepancies between all the characteristics of the new and `etalon' solutions are smaller than the corresponding discrepancies between two versions of the final geopotential model EGM96, one of them (HDM190) constructed by the block-diagonal least squares (LS) adjustment and the other one (V068) by using Jekeli's approach. On the basis of the derived analytical solution a new simple mathematical model is developed to apply the LS technique for evaluating geopotential coefficients. Received: 12 December 2000 / Accepted: 21 June 2001     

Developing a bivariate spatial association measure: An integration of Pearson's r and Moran's I

 This research is concerned with developing a bivariate spatial association measure or spatial correlation coefficient, which is intended to capture spatial association among observations in terms of their point-to-point relationships across two spatial patterns. The need for parameterization of the bivariate spatial dependence is precipitated by the realization that aspatial bivariate association measures, such as Pearson's correlation coefficient, do not recognize spatial distributional aspects of data sets. This study devises an L statistic by integrating Pearson's r as an aspatial bivariate association measure and Moran's I as a univariate spatial association measure. The concept of a spatial smoothing scalar (SSS) plays a pivotal role in this task. Received: 07 November 2000 / Accepted: 02 August 2001     

Topographic and atmospheric corrections of gravimetric geoid determination with special emphasis on the effects of harmonics of degrees zero and one

 The topographic and atmospheric effects of gravimetric geoid determination by the modified Stokes formula, which combines terrestrial gravity and a global geopotential model, are presented. Special emphasis is given to the zero- and first-degree effects. The normal potential is defined in the traditional way, such that the disturbing potential in the exterior of the masses contains no zero- and first-degree harmonics. In contrast, it is shown that, as a result of the topographic masses, the gravimetric geoid includes such harmonics of the order of several centimetres. In addition, the atmosphere contributes with a zero-degree harmonic of magnitude within 1 cm. Received: 5 November 1999 / Accepted: 22 January 2001     

The international GLONASS experiment: products, progress and prospects

 In October 1998 the IGEX field campaign, the first coordinated international effort to monitor GLONASS satellites on global basis, was started. Currently about 40 institutions worldwide support this effort either by providing GLONASS tracking data or in operating related data and analysis centers. The increasing quality and consistency of the calculated GLONASS orbits (about 25 cm early in 2000), even after the end of the official IGEX field campaign, are shown. Particular attention is drawn to the combination of precise ephemerides in order to generate a robust, reliable and complete IGEX orbits product. Some problems in modeling the effect of solar radiation pressure on GLONASS satellites are demonstrated. Finally, the expected benefits and prospects of the upcoming International GLOnass Service-Pilot Project (IGLOS-PP) of the International GPS Service (IGS) are discussed in more detail. Received: 17 August 2000 / Accepted: 12 April 2001