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GPS Reference Frames Glacial Isostatic Adjustment

The document discusses GPS reference frames and their relationship to crustal deformation measurements. It also discusses different methods for measuring gravity, including absolute, relative, and satellite gravity measurements. Gravity, magnetic, and DC electrical methods all use the Laplace equation to model potential fields.

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Andenet Ashagrie
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30 views13 pages

GPS Reference Frames Glacial Isostatic Adjustment

The document discusses GPS reference frames and their relationship to crustal deformation measurements. It also discusses different methods for measuring gravity, including absolute, relative, and satellite gravity measurements. Gravity, magnetic, and DC electrical methods all use the Laplace equation to model potential fields.

Uploaded by

Andenet Ashagrie
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Geology 6690/7690 29 Sep 2017

Geodesy & Crustal Deformation


GPS Reference Frames
• GPS Reference Frame relates Earth-fixed to satellite
motion; reference frame effects are part of position error
• Glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) is a transient effect
that is ~secular on decadal timescales; has vertical, horizontal
(including plate-like!) expression
• Early GPS reference frames were updated annually; now ~2x
per decade… Still find small adjustments to plate motion rates
• Geological evidence also exists for changes in plate motion
(perturbations of Australian hotspot paths during Ontong-Java
Plateau collision; decreasing Nubia-South America rates)

Read for Fri 29 Sep: Wahr §3.1-3.2 (67-75) © A.R. Lowry 2017
Read for Monday, Oct 2:
Herring et al. (2016) Plate Boundary Observatory and related
networks: GPS data analysis methods and geodetic
products, Reviews of Geophysics, 54(4), 759-808
Introduction to Gravity
Gravity, Magnetic, & DC Electrical methods are all examples
of the Laplace equation of the form:
 2u = f (sources),
Where u is a potential,
is the gradient operator

Notation: Here, the arrow →


denotes a vector quantity;
the carat ^ denotes a unit direction vector.
Hence, the gradient operator is just a vector form of slope…
Because Laplace’s eqn always incorporates a potential u,
we call these “Potential Field Methods”.
Gravity
We define the gravitational field as

And by Laplace’s equation,

(1)

given a single body of total mass M; here 2


G is universal gravitational constant = 6.672x10 -11 Nm
kg2
Integrating equation (1), we have

(2)
IF the body with mass M is spherical with constant (or
radially symmetric) density, equation (2) has a solution
given by:

Here r is distance from the center of mass (CoM);


rˆ is the direction vector pointing toward the CoM
Newton’s Law of gravitation:

So expresses the acceleration of m due to M!


has units of acceleration  Gal in cgs (= 0.01 m/s2)
On the Earth’s surface,

m/s2
HOWEVER, r is not radially symmetric in the Earth…
so is not constant!

Gravity methods look for anomalies, or perturbations,


from a reference value of at the Earth’s surface:
gobs
gref

r1 r0
Example:
Global Free-Air Gravity Field from GRACE + GOCE + surface
measurements…

WGM2012 model from Bureau Gravimetríque International


Gravity Measurements:
I. Absolute Gravity:
Measure the total field  time of a falling body
vacuum
• Must measure time to ~10-11 s;
prism
distance to ~10-9 m
laser for 1 mgal accuracy!

• Nevertheless this is the most


~2m accurate ground-based
technique

• Disadvantages: unwieldy; requires


a long occupation time to
measure
Gravity Measurements:
II. Relative Gravity:
Measure difference in at two locations
• Pendulum: difference in period
k l
T = 2p » 2p l
g g
Errors in timing of period T  ~0.1 mgal
• Mass on a spring: MDg = kDl
or Dg = kDl/M spring
Worden and Lacoste-Romberg length l constant
k
are of this type
(“zero-length” spring of L-R yields mass M
errors around 6 mgal)
Gravity Measurements:
III. Satellite Gravity:
Measure (from space) the height of an
equipotential surface (called the geoid, N)
relative to a
reference
ellipsoid
Gravity Measurements:
III. Satellite Gravity:
Measure (from space) the height of an equipotential
surface (called the geoid, N) relative to a reference
ellipsoid
• Ocean Altimetry: Measure the height of the ocean
surface using radar or laser (e.g., JASON)

• Satellite Ranging: Satellite orbits follow the geoid

Measure orbits by ranging from the ground to the


satellite or ranging between two satellites
(e.g., GRACE)
Example:
Global Free-Air Gravity Field from GRACE

Image from UT-CSR/NASA


GRACE and the modern
static (i.e., time-invariate)
geoid…

Note that the free air


gravity anomaly field
can be calculated
directly from the geoid.

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