Analyses of the solid earth and ocean tidal perturbations on the orbits of the Geos 1 and Geos 2 satellites

Abstract

The luni-solar tidal perturbations in the inclination of the GEOS-I and GEOS-II satellite orbits were analyzed for the solid Earth and ocean tide conditions. Precision reduced camera and TRANET Doppler observations spanning periods of over 600 days for each satellite were used to derive mean orbital elements. Perturbations due to the earth's gravity field, solar radiation pressure, and atmospheric drag were modelled, and the resulting inclination residuals were analyzed for tidal effects. The amplitudes of the observed total tidal effects were about 1.2 arc seconds (36 meters) in the inclination of GEOS-I and 4.5 arc seconds (135 meters) for GEOS-II. The solid earth tides were then modelled using earth tide measurements, earth rotation observations, and seismic data. The resulting inclination residuals were analyzed for ocean tide parameters. The derived parameters consist of one second degree coefficient and an accompanying phase angle in a spherical harmonic expansion of the ocean tidal potential for each tidal constituent. The results are presented.