# Journal of Geodesy

## List of Papers (Total 148)

#### Geodetic methods to determine the relativistic redshift at the level of 10 $^{-18}$ in the context of international timescales: a review and practical results

The frequency stability and uncertainty of the latest generation of optical atomic clocks is now approaching the one part in $10^{18}$ level. Comparisons between earthbound clocks at rest must account for the relativistic redshift of the clock frequencies, which is proportional to the corresponding gravity (gravitational plus centrifugal) potential difference. For contributions ...

#### Using the GOCE star trackers for validating the calibration of its accelerometers

A method for validating the calibration parameters of the six accelerometers on board the Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) from star tracker observations that was originally tested by an end-to-end simulation, has been updated and applied to real data from GOCE. It is shown that the method provides estimates of scale factors for all three axes of the ...

#### Stochastic models in the DORIS position time series: estimates for IDS contribution to ITRF2014

This paper focuses on the investigation of the deterministic and stochastic parts of the Doppler Orbitography and Radiopositioning Integrated by Satellite (DORIS) weekly time series aligned to the newest release of ITRF2014. A set of 90 stations was divided into three groups depending on when the data were collected at an individual station. To reliably describe the DORIS time ...

#### A methodology for least-squares local quasi-geoid modelling using a noisy satellite-only gravity field model

The paper is about a methodology to combine a noisy satellite-only global gravity field model (GGM) with other noisy datasets to estimate a local quasi-geoid model using weighted least-squares techniques. In this way, we attempt to improve the quality of the estimated quasi-geoid model and to complement it with a full noise covariance matrix for quality control and further data ...

#### Geodetic VLBI with an artificial radio source on the Moon: a simulation study

We perform extensive simulations in order to assess the accuracy with which the position of a radio transmitter on the surface of the Moon can be determined by geodetic VLBI. We study how the quality and quantity of geodetic VLBI observations influence these position estimates and investigate how observations of such near-field objects affect classical geodetic parameters like VLBI ...

#### Generalization techniques to reduce the number of volume elements for terrain effect calculations in fully analytical gravitational modelling

Beyond rectangular prism polyhedron, as a discrete volume element, can also be used to model the density distribution inside 3D geological structures. The calculation of the closed formulae given for the gravitational potential and its higher-order derivatives, however, needs twice more runtime than that of the rectangular prism computations. Although the more detailed the better ...

#### Analytic tools for investigating the structure of network reliability measures with regard to observation correlations

A global measure of observation correlations in a network is proposed, together with the auxiliary indices related to non-diagonal elements of the correlation matrix. Based on the above global measure, a specific representation of the correlation matrix is presented, being the result of rigorously proven theorem formulated within the present research. According to the theorem, each ...

#### VMF3/GPT3: refined discrete and empirical troposphere mapping functions

Incorrect modeling of troposphere delays is one of the major error sources for space geodetic techniques such as Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) or Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI). Over the years, many approaches have been devised which aim at mapping the delay of radio waves from zenith direction down to the observed elevation angle, so-called mapping ...

#### Statistically optimal estimation of Greenland Ice Sheet mass variations from GRACE monthly solutions using an improved mascon approach

We present an improved mascon approach to transform monthly spherical harmonic solutions based on GRACE satellite data into mass anomaly estimates in Greenland. The GRACE-based spherical harmonic coefficients are used to synthesize gravity anomalies at satellite altitude, which are then inverted into mass anomalies per mascon. The limited spectral content of the gravity anomalies ...

#### The first Australian gravimetric quasigeoid model with location-specific uncertainty estimates

We describe the computation of the first Australian quasigeoid model to include error estimates as a function of location that have been propagated from uncertainties in the EGM2008 global model, land and altimeter-derived gravity anomalies and terrain corrections. The model has been extended to include Australia’s offshore territories and maritime boundaries using newer datasets ...

#### Validation of Galileo orbits using SLR with a focus on satellites launched into incorrect orbital planes

The space segment of the European Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Galileo consists of In-Orbit Validation (IOV) and Full Operational Capability (FOC) spacecraft. The first pair of FOC satellites was launched into an incorrect, highly eccentric orbital plane with a lower than nominal inclination angle. All Galileo satellites are equipped with satellite laser ranging (SLR) ...

#### Distributional theory for the DIA method

The DIA method for the detection, identification and adaptation of model misspecifications combines estimation with testing. The aim of the present contribution is to introduce a unifying framework for the rigorous capture of this combination. By using a canonical model formulation and a partitioning of misclosure space, we show that the whole estimation–testing scheme can be ...

#### Improving GOCE cross-track gravity gradients

The GOCE gravity gradiometer measured highly accurate gravity gradients along the orbit during GOCE’s mission lifetime from March 17, 2009, to November 11, 2013. These measurements contain unique information on the gravity field at a spatial resolution of 80 km half wavelength, which is not provided to the same accuracy level by any other satellite mission now and in the ...

#### Hydrological excitation of polar motion by different variables from the GLDAS models

Continental hydrological loading by land water, snow and ice is a process that is important for the full understanding of the excitation of polar motion. In this study, we compute different estimations of hydrological excitation functions of polar motion (as hydrological angular momentum, HAM) using various variables from the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) models of ...

#### On the equivalence of spherical splines with least-squares collocation and Stokes’s formula for regional geoid computation

This work is an investigation of three methods for regional geoid computation: Stokes’s formula, least-squares collocation (LSC), and spherical radial base functions (RBFs) using the spline kernel (SK). It is a first attempt to compare the three methods theoretically and numerically in a unified framework. While Stokes integration and LSC may be regarded as classic methods for ...

#### Precise orbit determination of the Fengyun-3C satellite using onboard GPS and BDS observations

The GNSS Occultation Sounder instrument onboard the Chinese meteorological satellite Fengyun-3C (FY-3C) tracks both GPS and BDS signals for orbit determination. One month’s worth of the onboard dual-frequency GPS and BDS data during March 2015 from the FY-3C satellite is analyzed in this study. The onboard BDS and GPS measurement quality is evaluated in terms of data quantity as ...

#### Quantifying deformation in North Borneo with GPS

The existence of intra-plate deformation of the Sundaland platelet along its eastern edge in North Borneo, South-East Asia, makes it an interesting area that still is relatively understudied. In addition, the motion of the coastal area of North-West Borneo is directed toward a frontal fold-and-thrust belt and has been fueling a long debate on the possible geophysical sources behind ...

#### Group delay variations of GPS transmitting and receiving antennas

GPS code pseudorange measurements exhibit group delay variations at the transmitting and the receiving antenna. We calibrated C1 and P2 delay variations with respect to dual-frequency carrier phase observations and obtained nadir-dependent corrections for 32 satellites of the GPS constellation in early 2015 as well as elevation-dependent corrections for 13 receiving antenna models. ...

#### Earth’s gravity field modelling based on satellite accelerations derived from onboard GPS phase measurements

GPS data collected by satellite gravity missions can be used for extracting the long-wavelength part of the Earth’s gravity field. We propose a new data processing method which makes use of the ‘average acceleration’ approach to gravity field modelling. In this method, satellite accelerations are directly derived from GPS carrier phase measurements with an epoch-differenced scheme. ...

#### Application of ray-traced tropospheric slant delays to geodetic VLBI analysis

The correction of tropospheric influences via so-called path delays is critical for the analysis of observations from space geodetic techniques like the very long baseline interferometry (VLBI). In standard VLBI analysis, the a priori slant path delays are determined using the concept of zenith delays, mapping functions and gradients. The a priori use of ray-traced delays, i.e., ...

#### Improved efficiency of maximum likelihood analysis of time series with temporally correlated errors

Most time series of geophysical phenomena have temporally correlated errors. From these measurements, various parameters are estimated. For instance, from geodetic measurements of positions, the rates and changes in rates are often estimated and are used to model tectonic processes. Along with the estimates of the size of the parameters, the error in these parameters needs to be ...

#### VLBI observations of GNSS-satellites: from scheduling to analysis

The possibility of observing satellites with the very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) technique has been discussed for several years in the geodetic community, with observations of either existing satellites of the global navigation satellite systems or of satellites dedicated to realise a space tie. Such observations were carried out using the Australian telescopes in Hobart ...

#### Determination of a high spatial resolution geopotential model using atomic clock comparisons

Recent technological advances in optical atomic clocks are opening new perspectives for the direct determination of geopotential differences between any two points at a centimeter-level accuracy in geoid height. However, so far detailed quantitative estimates of the possible improvement in geoid determination when adding such clock measurements to existing data are lacking. We ...

#### On the determination of the effect of horizontal ionospheric gradients on ranging errors in GNSS positioning

An alternative approach to the traditionally employed method is proposed for treating the ionospheric range errors in transionospheric propagation such as for GNSS positioning or satellite-borne SAR. It enables the effects due to horizontal gradients of electron density (as well as vertical gradients) in the ionosphere to be explicitly accounted for. By contrast with many previous ...