Some geophysical and geodetic contributions of satellite-determined gravity results

Satellite orbital data yield reliable values of low degree and order coefficients in the spherical harmonic expansion of the Earth's gravity field. The second degree coefficient yields the shape of the Earth — probably the most important single parameter in geodesy. It is crucial in the numerical evaluation of different forms of the theoretical gravity formula. The new information requires the standardization of gravity anomalies obtained from satellite gravity and terrestrial gravity data in the context of three most commonly used reference figures, e.g.,International Reference Ellipsoid, Reference Ellipsoid 1967, andEquilibrium Reference Ellipsoid. This standardization is important in the comparison and combination of satellite gravity and gravimetric data as well as the integration of surface gravity data, collected with different objectives, in a single reference system.Examination of the nature of satellite gravity anomalies aids in the geophysical and geodetic interpretation of these anomalies in terms of the tectonic features of the Earth and the structure of the Earth's crust and mantle. Satellite results also make it possible to compute the Potsdam correction and Earth's equatorial radius from the satellite-determined geopotential. They enable the decomposition of the total observed gravity anomaly into components of geophysical interest. They also make it possible to study the temporal variations of the geogravity field. In addition, satellite results make significant contributions in the prediction of gravity in unsurveyed areas, as well as in providing a check on marine gravity profiles.On leave from University of Hawaii, Honolulu.     

基于重力卫星数据监测地表质量变化的三维点质量模型法

利用卫星重力测量手段监测全球质量变化取得了巨大成功,本文基于牛顿万有引力定律在三维空间直角坐标系中导出利用重力卫星观测数据监测全球质量变化的三维点质量模型法,该方法可直接利用重力卫星的轨道和星间观测数据或时变重力场模型计算全球质量变化,由于利用卫星观测数据计算地表质量变化的向下延拓过程以及观测数据噪声的影响,需要采用合适的空间约束方程或正则化技术对解算结果进行约束或平滑处理.利用合成全球质量变化模型模拟一个月的GRACE双星轨道和星间距离变率数据计算全球质量变化,对三维点质量模型法进行分析验证,采用零阶Tikhonov正则化技术处理病态问题.结果表明,三维点质量模型法可有效用于重力卫星观测数据监测全球质量变化,为利用重力卫星观测数据监测全球质量变化提供一种可选的途径.     

卫星重力梯度测量与地球引力场的精度研究

本文根据地球引力位的球谐函数展开式,利用重力梯度张量各分量导出了位系数模型的精度估计公式.从三方面进行了研究:假定卫星重力梯度仪测量精度,探讨用重力梯度数据确定地球重力场模型的精度;求出位系数模型和大气阻力引起的重力梯度卫星的轨道误差;最后,反求轨道误差和位系数误差对重力梯度测量值的影响.数值计算表明,与地面技术和常规卫星方法相比,卫星梯度测量可使重力场模型的精度至少提高3-5倍;利用重力梯度张量全分量求得的重力值精度比单用径向分量V_rr的结果提高40％以上;若仅顾及位系数模型和大气阻力误差,则轨道误差对梯度测量值的影响△V_i3（i=3,2,1）至少可分别在1/4和1/3弧圈内达到△V_i3≤σ（仪器精度）.     

Some space gravity formulas and the dimensions and the mass of the Earth

Summary Adopting thePizzetti-Somigliana method and using elliptic integrals we have obtained closed formulas for the space gravity field in which one of the equipotential surfaces is a triaxial ellipsoid. The same formulas are also obtained in first approximation of the equatorial flattening avoiding the use of the elliptic integrals. Using data from satellites and Earth gravity data the gravitational and geometric bulge of the Earth's equator are computed. On the basis of these results and on the basis of recent gravity data taken around the equator between the longitudes 50° to 100° E, 155° to 180° E, and 145° to 180° W, we question the advantage of using a triaxial gravity formula and a triaxial ellipsoid in geodesy. Closed formulas for the space field in which a biaxial ellipsoid is an equipotential surface are also derived in polar coordinates and its parameters are specialized to give the international gravity formula values on the international ellipsoid. The possibility to compute the Earth's dimensions from the present Earth gravity data is the discussed and the value ofMG=(3.98603×10²⁰ cm³ sec^–2) (M mass of the Earth,G gravitational constant) is computed. The agreement of this value with others computed from the mean distance Earth-Moon is discussed. The Legendre polinomials series expansion of the gravitational potential is also added. In this series the coefficients of the polinomials are closed formulas in terms of the flattening andMG.Publication Number 327, and Istituto di Geodesia e Geofisica of Università di Trieste.     

Interpretation of general geophysical patterns in Iran based on GRACE gradient component analysis

Only with satellites it is possible to cover the entire Earth densely with gravity field related measurements of uniform quality within a short period of time. However, due to the altitude of the satellite orbits, the signals of individual local masses are strongly damped. Based on the approach of Petrovskaya and Vershkov we determine the gravity gradient tensor directly from the spherical harmonic coefficients of the recent EIGEN-GL04C combined model of the GRACE satellite mission. Satellite gradiometry can be used as a complementary tool to gravity and geoid information in interpreting the general geophysical and geodynamical features of the Earth. Due to the high altitude of the satellite, the effects of the topography and the internal masses of the Earth are strongly damped. However, the gradiometer data, which are nothing else than the second order spatial derivatives of the gravity potential, efficiently counteract signal attenuation at the low and medium frequencies. In this article we review the procedure for estimating the gravity gradient components directly from spherical harmonics coefficients. Then we apply this method as a case study for the interpretation of possible geophysical or geodynamical patterns in Iran. We found strong correlations between the cross-components of the gravity gradient tensor and the components of the deflection of vertical, and we show that this result agrees with theory. Also, strong correlations of the gravity anomaly, geoid model and a digital elevation model were found with the diagonal elements of the gradient tensor.     

GRACE和SLR观测的地球动力学扁率最大熵谱及小波相关分析

卫星重力测量技术的实现为测定地球动力学扁率提供了新的方式和途径，GRACE卫星是目前最新的重力测量卫星，据其恢复的低阶重力场较以往精度得到大大提高，然而其观测地球动力学扁率（二阶项）却与卫星激光测距（SLR）结果相差较大.本文采用最大熵谱和小波分析方法对GRACE和SLR观测的地球动力学扁率时间序列信号进行定量比较分析，结果表明：GRACE观测的地球动力学扁率年际周期变化振幅仅为SLR观测结果的25%，并且目前GRACE观测的地球动力学扁率数据中含有系统输入信息和相位差，但前者较后者包含有较强的短周期（2～6月）信息.造成这种差异的主要原因可能来自于GRACE与SLR全球观测数据时空分布不同.     

Satellite orbit computations using gravity anomalies

Summary A typical geodetic satellite orbit has been computed by numerical integration for a period of thirty hours. The gravitational potential of a standard orbit was represented by the SAO 1969 Standard Earth potential coefficients taken to degree 18. Other orbits were generated using the generalized Stokes' equations and the coating method applied to gravity anomalies and surface densities, in 5°, 10°, 15° and 30° equal-area blocks, derived from the given potential coefficients. The differences between these orbits yield the position differences to be expected when representing the potential field by using gravity data instead of potential coefficients. Using 10°, 15°, and 30° blocks and the generalized Stokes' equations, the position error at the end of thirty hours was 89 meters, 224 meters, and 2060 meters respectively. This error is primarily due to the integration error in computing the gravitational field by summation over a finite number of areas.     

中国岩石层底面地幔对流状态的探讨

本文应用卫星测量地球重力场的球谐函数系数和地幔流体力学方程,计算了中国地区岩石层下的地幔对流状态。计算中选用了三种不同的模式:模式Ⅰ,完全场（2-30阶）;模式Ⅱ,高阶场（13-25阶）;模式ⅢI,低阶场（4-18阶）。其目的是探求一种与我国地质和地球物理实测资料相符合的最佳模式。考虑到岩石层厚度与所假定的地幔对流区厚度相比是很薄的,因而可以把地幔流对岩石层底面产生的拖曳力近似地看作岩石层内构造力。将上述三个模式分别与中国及邻区的131个地震（1961-1977,M≥5）震源机制解和近代地质构造形变等资料进行比较。结果表明,模式Ⅰ与我国大多数地区的实测资料符合得最好,该模式所显示的地幔对流特征与相应各地区近代构造运动特点相符。模式Ⅰ为探讨近代构造运动的力源问题,提供了新的线索。     

GOCE Quick-Look Gravity Solution: Application of the Semianalytic Approach in the Case of Data Gaps and Non-Repeat Orbits

The satellite mission GOCE (Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer), the first Core Mission of the Earth Explorer Programme funded by ESA (European Space Agency), is dedicated to the precise modelling of the Earth's gravity field, with its launch planned for 2006. The mathematical models for parameterizing the Earth's gravity field are based on a series expansion into spherical harmonics, yielding a huge number of unknown coefficients. Their computation leads to the solution of very large normal equation systems. An efficient way to handle these equation systems is the so-called semianalytic or lumped coefficients approach, which theoretically requires an uninterrupted, continuous time series of observations, recorded along an exact circular repeat orbit. In this paper the consequences of violating these conditions are analyzed. The effects of an interrupted observation stream onto the estimated spherical harmonic coefficients are demonstrated, and an iterative strategy, which reduces the negative influence depending on the characteristics of the data gaps, is proposed. Additionally, the impact of an imperfectly closing orbit (non-repeat orbit) on the gravity field model is analyzed, and a strategy to minimize the corresponding errors is presented. The applicability of the semianalytic approach also to a joint inversion of satellite-to-satellite tracking data in high-low mode (hl-SST) and satellite gravity gradiometry (SGG) observations is demonstrated, where the analysis of the former component is based on the energy conservation law. Several realistic case studies prove that the semianalytic approach is a feasible tool to generate quick-look gravity solutions, i.e. fast coefficient estimates using only partial data sets. This quick-look analysis shall be able to detect potential distortions of statistical significance (e.g. systematic errors) in the input data, and to give a fast feedback to the GOCE mission control.     

Ellipsoidal Neumann geodetic boundary-value problem based on surface gravity disturbances: case study of Iran

An ellipsoidal Neumann type geodetic boundary-value problem (GBVP) for the computation of disturbing potential on the surface of the Earth based on the surface gravity disturbance as the boundary data is formulated. The solution methodology of the GBVP can be algorithmically summarized as follows: (i) using global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) coordinates of the gravity stations, the surface gravity disturbances are generated as the boundary data. (ii) Applying the deflection correction to the gravity disturbances to arrive at the derivative of the surface disturbing potential along the ellipsoidal normal. (iii) Removing the low frequencies part of the gravity field using harmonic expansion to degree and order 110. (iv) Using the short wavelength part of the corrected gravity disturbances derived in the previous section as the boundary data within the constructed GBVP to derive the short wavelength disturbing potential over the Earth surface. (v) The computed shortwave length signals of disturbing potentials are converted to disturbing potential values by restoring the removed effects.     

A comparison of satellite systems for gravity field measurements

A detailed and accurate Earth gravity field model is important both to geophysical progress and to the precise tracking necessary for interpretation of geophysical experiments. Various satellite techniques which may be used to determine the Earth's gravity field are compared and their ability to recover the long wavelength and short wavelength features of the field are described.A high-low configuration satellite-to-satellite tracking mission is recommended for the determination of the long wavelength portion of the gravity field. Satellite altimetry and satellite gradiometry experiments are recommended for determination of the short wavelength portion of the gravity field.     

Induction studies with satellite data

The natural variations of the Earth's magnetic field of periods spanning from milliseconds to decades can be used to infer the conductivity-depth profile of the Earth's interior. Satellites provide a good spatial coverage of magnetic measurements, and forthcoming missions will probably allow for observations lasting several years, which helps to reduce the statistical error of the estimated response functions.Two methods are used to study the electrical conductivity of the Earth's mantle in the period range from hours to months. In the first, known as the potential method, a spherical harmonic analysis of the geomagnetic field is performed, and the Q-response, which is the transfer function between the internal (induced) and the external (inducing) expansion coefficients is determined for a specific frequency. In the second approach, known as the geomagnetic depth sounding method, the C-response, which is the transfer function between the magnetic vertical component and the horizontal derivative of the horizontal components, is determined. If one of these transfer functions is known for several frequencies, models of the electrical conductivity in the Earth's interior can be constructed.This paper reviews and discusses the possibilities for induction studies using high-precision magnetic measurements from low-altitude satellites. The different methods and various transfer functions are presented, with special emphasis on the differences in analysing data from ground stations and from satellites. The results of several induction studies with scalar satellite data (from the POGO satellites) and with vector data (from the Magsat mission) demonstrate the ability to probe the Earth's conductivity from space. However, compared to the results obtained with ground data the satellite results are much noisier, which presumably is due to the shorter time series of the satellite studies.The results of a new analysis of data from the Magsat satellite indicate higher resistivity in oceanic areas than in continental areas. However, since this holds for the whole range of periods between 2 and 20 days, this difference probably is not caused purely by differences in mantle conductivity (for which one would expect less difference for the longer periods). Further studies with data from recently launched and future satellites are needed.     

基于下一代三向车轮双星编队改善地球重力场空间分辨率研究

由于当前GRACE(Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment)串行式编队存在"南北向条带误差"等缺陷,因此本文基于星间速度插值法开展了利用下一代三向车轮双星编队ACR(Along-Cross-Radial)-Cartwheel提高地球重力场空间分辨率的可行性研究论证.第一,采用GRACE卫星轨道参数和关键载荷精度,利用三向车轮双星编队ACR-Cartwheel-A/B反演了120阶地球重力场.结果表明:基于ACR-Cartwheel-A/B双星编队反演地球重力场的模拟精度较德国波茨坦地学研究中心(GFZ)公布的EIGEN-GRACE02S地球重力场模型的实测精度平均提高2.6倍,从而检验了基于下一代三向车轮双星编队ACR-Cartwheel-A/B反演地球重力场精度优于当前GRACE串行式双星编队的可行性.第二,通过星间速度插值法,采用卫星轨道参数(初始轨道高度350km、平均星间距离100km、初始轨道倾角89°、初始轨道离心率0.0046)、卫星关键载荷精度指标(星间速度10-7 m·s-1、轨道位置10-3 m、轨道速度10-6 m·s-1、非保守力10-11 m·s-2)、观测时间30天和采样间隔10s,基于经向车轮双星编队Lo-AR(Longitudinal-Along-Radial)-Cartwheel-A/B、纬向车轮双星编队La-AR(Latitudinal-Along-Radial)-Cartwheel-A/B和三向车轮双星编队ACR-Cartwheel-A/B,分别反演了120阶地球重力场;在120阶处,累计大地水准面精度分别为5.115×10-4 m、4.923×10-4 m和3.488×10-4 m.结果表明:(1)由于La-AR-Cartwheel-A/B编队的轨道稳定性优于Lo-AR-Cartwheel-A/B编队,因此基于La-AR-Cartwheel-A/B编队反演重力场精度高于Lo-AR-CartwheelA/B编队;(2)由于ACR-Cartwheel-A/B编队可以同时获得轨向、垂向和径向的重力场信息,卫星观测数据具有各向同性优点,因此ACR-Cartwheel-A/B编队是建立下一代高精度和高空间分辨地球重力场模型的优化选择.     

High Resolution Constituents of the Earth’s Gravitational Field

During the General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union in April 2008, the new Earth Gravitational Model 2008 (EGM08) was released with fully-normalized coefficients in the spherical harmonic expansion of the Earth’s gravitational potential complete to degree and order 2159 (for selected degrees up to 2190). EGM08 was derived through combination of a satellite-based geopotential model and 5 arcmin mean ground gravity data. Spherical harmonic coefficients of the global height function, that describes the surface of the solid Earth with the same angular resolution as EGM08, became available at the same time. This global topographical model can be used for estimation of selected constituents of EGM08, namely the gravitational potentials of the Earth’s atmosphere, ocean water (fluid masses below the geoid) and topographical masses (solid masses above the geoid), which can be evaluated numerically through spherical harmonic expansions. The spectral properties of the respective potential coefficients are studied in terms of power spectra and their relation to the EGM08 potential coefficients is analyzed by using correlation coefficients. The power spectra of the topographical and sea water potentials exceed the power of the EGM08 potential over substantial parts of the considered spectrum indicating large effects of global isostasy. The correlation analysis reveals significant correlations of all three potentials with the EGM08 potential. The potential constituents (namely their functionals such as directional derivatives) can be used for a step known in geodesy and geophysics as the gravity field reduction or stripping. Removing from EGM08 known constituents will help to analyze the internal structure of the Earth (geophysics) as well as to derive the Earth’s gravitational field harmonic outside the geoid (geodesy).     

Digital Processing Of Earth Observation Images

Earth observation techniques provide digital images of the Earth's surface. In the field of environmental applications, image processing techniques can be used to manipulate the data, in particular to display satellite images in gray level or in a color composition, to radiometrically and geometrically preprocess the data, and to extract thematic information, by visual interpretation or by semi-automatic techniques.This paper presents some basic concepts in digital image processing and givesa general overview of the main processing methods that can be applied to derivegeographical information from Earth observation images.     

A refined method of recovering potential coefficients from surface gravity data

Summary A new method for computing the potential coefficients of the Earth's external gravity field is presented. The gravimetric boundary-value problem with a free boundary is reduced to the problem with a fixed known telluroid. The main idea of the derivation consists in a continuation of the quantities from the physical surface to the telluroid by means of Taylor's series expansion in such a way that the terms whose magnitudes are comparable with the accuracy of today's gravity measurements are retained. Thus not only linear, but also non-linear terms are taken into account. Explicitly, the terms up to the order of the third power of the Earth's flattening are retained. The non-linear boundary-value problem on the telluroid is solved by an iteration procedure with successive approximations. In each iteration step the solution of the non-linear problem is estimated by the solutions of two linear problems utilizing the fact that the non-linear boundary condition may be split into two parts; the linear spherical approximation of the gravity anomaly whose magnitude is significantly greater than the others and the non-linear ellipsoidal corrections. Finally, in order to solve the problem in terms of spherical harmonics, the transform method composed of the fast Fourier transform and Gauss Legendre quadrature is theoretically outlined. Immediate data processing of gravity data measured on the physical Earth's surface without any continuation of gravity measurements to a reference level surface belongs to the main advantage of the presented method. This implies that no preliminary data handling is needed and that the error data propagation is, consequently, maximally suppressed.     

SNREI地球对表面负荷和引潮力的形变响应

基于PREM模型，利用非自转、球型分层、各向同性、理想弹性（SNREI）地球的形变理论，讨论了地球在不同驱动力作用下的形变特征．采用地球位移场方程的4阶Runge Kutta数值积分方法，解算了在表面负荷和日月引潮力作用下地球表面和内部形变和扰动位，并给出了地球表面的负荷Love数和体潮Love数．结果表明在固体内核中的形变很小，液核中低阶(n＜10)负荷位移随半径的变化非常复杂．当负荷阶数超过10时，地核中的形变和扰动位都很小，地球的响应主要表现为弹性地幔中的径向位移，且随深度增加急剧减弱，负荷阶数越高这种衰减的速度越快．SNREI地球的地表负荷Love数和体潮Love数与信号频率的依赖关系很弱．在计算体潮Love数的过程中，采用了SNREI地球的运动方程，同时考虑了由于地球自转和椭率引起的核幔边界附加压力，这一近似处理方法获得的结果能很好地符合地球表面重力潮汐实际观测结果．     

卫星重力梯度恢复地球重力场的频谱分析

根据仪器功率谱密度和重力位系数阶方差的定义,本文建立了卫星重力梯度测量噪声功率谱密度与重力场模型的误差阶方差的直接对应关系,并基于此讨论了重力梯度测量精度、卫星轨道高度以及运行时间对地球重力场恢复精度的影响.相比于传统的基于最小二乘法评估卫星载荷噪声对地球重力场恢复精度的影响而言,本文提出的方法简单、直接,有助于快速设计和确定卫星重力测量计划的有关参数.     

联合串行式和钟摆式卫星编队精确建立下一代HIP-3S地球重力场模型

第一,基于扰动星间距离观测量对地球重力场反演精度的敏感性优于星间距离观测值的特性,本文构建了新型扰动星间距离法(DIRM).第二,有效检验了下一代HIP-3S编队的轨道稳定性,结果表明:HIP-3S编队较稳定,有利于提高地球重力场反演精度.第三,基于扰动星间距离法,分别利用当前GRACE-2S串行式双星编队和下一代HIP-3S复合式三星编队精确反演了120阶地球重力场,在120阶处累计大地水准面精度为2.271×10~(-1)m和1.923×10~(-3)m,结果表明:HIP-3S复合式三星编队有利于建立下一代高精度和高空间分辨率的地球重力场模型.     

基于下一代四星转轮式编队系统精确和快速反演FSCF地球重力场

第一,由于重力卫星编队轨道的稳定性设计是建立下一代高精度和高空间分辨率地球重力场模型的关键,因此为保证下一代四星转轮式编队系统的稳定性,轨道根数的最优设计如下:(1)轨道半长轴a、轨道偏心率e、轨道倾角i和升交点赤经Ω保持不变;(2)每对卫星的近地点幅角ω和平近点角M分别相差180°;(3)初始近地点辐角ω设置于赤道处,初始平近点角M设计于极点处;(4)卫星编队系统椭圆轨道的半长轴和半短轴之比为2:1. 第二,基于下一代四星转轮式编队系统,利用星间速度插值法,通过相关系数(激光干涉测量系统的星间速度0.85、GPS接收机的轨道位置和轨道速度0.95、星载加速度计的非保守力0.90)、观测时间30天和采样间隔10 s,反演了120阶FSCF-1/2/3/4(Four-Satellite Cartwheel Formation)地球重力场,在120阶处累计大地水准面精度为1.162×10^-4 m,较目前GRACE地球重力场精度至少提高一个数量级. 第三,下一代四星转轮式编队系统具有低轨道高度、高精度测量、全张量观测、弱混频效应和强时变信号的优点.