A review of the GGP network and scientific challenges

Abstract

The Global Geodynamics Project (GGP) started on July 1, 1997 and is now in its 11th year of operation. It has a relatively small number of stations (24), compared to seismic (GSN) or geodetic (GPS) networks, but it is the only database that is accumulating relative gravity measurements worldwide. As any scientific organization matures, there is a change in the culture of the project and the people involved. To remain viable, it is necessary not only to maintain the original goals, but also to incorporate new ideas and applications on the science involved. The main challenges within GGP are to ensure: (a) that the instruments are properly calibrated, (b) that data is being recorded with the highest accuracy, and with appropriate hydrological instrumentation, and (c) that the flow of data from all recording stations to the ICET database continues as agreed in within the GGP framework. These practical matters are the basis for providing high quality recordings that will extend the usefulness of the network into the future to meet new challenges in geosciences. Several new stations have been brought into operation in the past few years, but the data availability from some of these stations still leaves room for improvement. Nevertheless, the core group of stations established more than 10 years ago has been able to maintain the high standards of the original concept, and much research has been published using network data in areas as diverse as hydrology, polar motion, and Earth’s normal modes. GGP will also participate in some of the scientific tasks of the Global Geodetic Observing System program, at least initially by providing relative gravity measurements for collocation with other high precision geodetic measurements.