Curtin University Homepage
  • Library
  • Help
    • Admin

    espace - Curtin’s institutional repository

    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.
    View Item 
    • espace Home
    • espace
    • Curtin Research Publications
    • View Item
    • espace Home
    • espace
    • Curtin Research Publications
    • View Item

    Topographic evaluation of fifth-generation GOCE gravity field models – globally and regionally

    Access Status
    Fulltext not available
    Authors
    Hirt, Christian
    Rexer, M.
    Claessens, Sten
    Date
    2015
    Type
    Journal Article
    
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Citation
    Hirt, C. and Rexer, M. and Claessens, S. 2015. Topographic evaluation of fifth-generation GOCE gravity field models – globally and regionally. Newton's Bulletin. 5: pp. 163-186.
    Source Title
    Newton's Bulletin
    Additional URLs
    http://www.isgeoid.polimi.it/Newton/Newton_5/12_Hirt_163_186.pdf
    ISSN
    1810-8555
    School
    Department of Spatial Sciences
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/3643
    Collection
    • Curtin Research Publications
    Abstract

    ESA (European Space Agency) has released a series of new-generation Earth gravity field models computed from gradiometry and GPS observations carried out aboard the GOCE (Gravity field and Ocean Circulation Explorer) satellite. In order to assess the quality of the new GOCE gravity fields, the sensitivity of satellite gravimetry to the gravitational attraction of the topographic masses can be exploited. This study uses topographic mass models to evaluate five generations of GOCE gravity models, both globally and regionally. As model representing Earth’s topography, ice-sheet and waterbody masses we use the new RET2014 rock-equivalent topography model by Curtin University (Perth). The gravitational potential of the RET2014 model is computed in spherical harmonics and in ellipsoidal approximation (ellipsoidal topographic potential, cf. Claessens and Hirt 2013, JGR Solid Earth, 118, 5991). We compare gravity from GOCE and from the RET2014 topography, whereby similar signal characteristics are taken as a sign of quality for the GOCE gravity fields.Our topographic evaluation shows a steadily improved agreement of the five model generations with topographyimplied gravity, and increase in GOCE model resolution. For the fifth-generation GOCE gravity fields, full resolution is indicated to harmonic degree ~220 (90 km scales), and partially resolved gravity features are found to degree ~270 (time-wise approach, TIM) and degree ~290-300 (direct approach, DIR), As such, the 5th-generation GOCE models capture parts of the gravity field signal down to ~70 km spatial scales. This is a very significant improvement in satellite-only static gravity field knowledge compared to the pre-GOCE-era. Our comparisons show that models from the DIR approach improved relative to those from the TIM approach from the 2nd to the 5th generation, with DIR offering the best short-scale performance (from degree 240 and beyond). Considering the unprecedented gravity field resolution achieved, the GOCE gravity field mission performed beyond the expectations. The GOCE gravity fields will serve as a de-facto-standard in a range of applications encompassing geodesy, geophysics and oceanography.

    Related items

    Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.

    • Topographic/isostatic evaluation of new-generation GOCE gravity field models
      Hirt, Christian; Kuhn, Michael; Featherstone, Will; Göttl, F. (2012)
      We use gravity implied by the Earth’s rock-equivalent topography (RET) and modelled isostatic compensation masses to evaluate the new global gravity field models (GGMs) from European Space Agency (ESA)’s Gravity Field and ...
    • A new degree-2190 (10 km resolution) gravity field model for Antarctica developed from GRACE, GOCE and Bedmap2 data
      Hirt, Christian; Rexer, M.; Scheinert, M.; Pail, R.; Claessens, Sten; Holmes, S. (2015)
      The current high-degree global geopotential models EGM2008 and EIGEN-6C4 resolve gravity field structures to ~10 km spatial scales over most parts of the of Earth’s surface. However, a notable exception is continental ...
    • Evaluation of the third- and fourth-generation GOCE Earth gravity field models with Australian terrestrial gravity data in spherical harmonics
      Rexer, Moritz; Hirt, Christian; Pail, R.; Claessens, Sten (2014)
      In March 2013 the fourth generation of ESA’s (European Space Agency) global gravity field models, DIR4 (Bruinsma et al, 2010b) and TIM4 (Pail et al, 2010), generated from the GOCE (Gravity field and steady-state Ocean ...
    Advanced search

    Browse

    Communities & CollectionsIssue DateAuthorTitleSubjectDocument TypeThis CollectionIssue DateAuthorTitleSubjectDocument Type

    My Account

    Admin

    Statistics

    Most Popular ItemsStatistics by CountryMost Popular Authors

    Follow Curtin

    • 
    • 
    • 
    • 
    • 

    CRICOS Provider Code: 00301JABN: 99 143 842 569TEQSA: PRV12158

    Copyright | Disclaimer | Privacy statement | Accessibility

    Curtin would like to pay respect to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members of our community by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which the Perth campus is located, the Whadjuk people of the Nyungar Nation; and on our Kalgoorlie campus, the Wongutha people of the North-Eastern Goldfields.