Global Reference System for the Determination of the Earth Gravity Field: from the Potsdam System to the Global Geodynamics Project and further
to the International System of Fundamental Absolute Gravity Stations
D. Crossley1, L. F. Vitushkin2, H. Wilmes3
1Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Saint Louis University, USA
2All-Russian D. I. Mendeleyev Research Institute for Metrology (VNIIM), St. Petersburg, Russian Federation
,sup>3Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (BKG), Frankfurt/Main, Germany
Abstract:
Modern terrestrial gravity measurement techniques, namely the transportable absolute ballistic gravimeters and the superconducting gravimeters have considerably evolved during the past years. The application of advanced comparison techniques supplied by the international metrological community makes possible to create a new consistent global gravity reference which is required for many applications in geodesy and in metrology.
International groups from geodesy and metrology cooperate in working groups for continuing the comparisons of absolute gravimeters with advanced comparison rules on a distributed network of global sites and with a repetition rate of a few years. The results of these comparisons will enable the progress of geodynamical investigations like the Global Geodynamics Project and set the basis for the establishment of a new International System of Fundamental Absolute Gravity Stations.
Keywords:
geodesy, gravity networks, absolute gravimeter, superconducting gravimeter