A new high-resolution gravimetric geoid for South Spain and the Gibraltar Strait area: SOSGIS

Abstract

A new gravimetric geoid is computed for South Spain and the Gibraltar Strait area. This geoid is located just in the junction between two tectonic plates (Euro-Asiatic and African plates) and in the junction of two gravimetric geoids: IGG2005 (the Iberian Gravimetric Geoid obtained in 2005) and MORGEO (the MORoccan GEOid). IGG2005 is the Iberian geoid and MORGEO is the Moroccan geoid, both geoids have been previously obtained. The new geoid is the gravimetric geoid solution that connects the two above-mentioned geoids, getting a more accurate and reliable picture of this area than the other previous geoids. The method used is the Stokes integral in convolution form, which shows to be an efficient method to reach the proposed objective. The terrain correction and the indirect effect have been taken into account. The new geoid is obtained as a regular grid (with a mesh size of 1.5′ × 1.5′) in the GRS80 reference system, covering the study area from 34° to 40° of latitude and from −8° to 0° of longitude. This gravimetric geoid and the previous geoids: IGG2005 and MORGEO; are compared to the geoid undulations derived at the validation points located on the study area (four GPS/levelling points measured on Morocco and five points of the European vertical reference network (EUVN) measured on Iberia). As it is expected, the new geoid is a more precise and reliable model, fitting the geoidal heights of these validation points with more accuracy than the other previous geoids. This new model will be useful for orthometric height determination by GPS in the mountains and remote areas, where levelling has many logistic problems. Also, it can be interesting for other geophysical purposes different to the height measurements, because it can provide a constraint for the density distribution, the thermal state of Lithosphere and the viscosity in the mantle. Such details can be inferred from a geoid model and the seismic velocity structure.