Earth rotation monitoring, UT1 determination and prediction

Abstract

Monitoring the Earth's rotation angle is essential in various domains linked to reference systems such as space navigation, precise orbit determinations of artificial Earth satellites including the Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), positional astronomy and for geophysical studies on time scales ranging from a few hours to decades.Universal Time UT1 is based on the rotation of the Earth on its axis. Historically it was related to mean solar time on the meridian of Greenwich, sometimes known as Greenwich Mean Time. Monitoring Earth orientation, and in particular UT1, is the primary task of the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS). The Earth Orientation Center is responsible for monitoring Earth orientation parameters (EOPs) including long-term consistency and leap second announcements. The Rapid Service/Prediction Center is in charge of the rapid, near real-time solution and predictions. These two complementary services of the IERS provide Earth orientation information from results derived predominantly from Very Long Baseline Interferometry with valuable input from GNSS observations and global atmospheric angular momentum for both the combination and prediction of EOPs.