Solutions of the linearized geodetic boundary value problem for an ellipsoidal boundary to order e 3

Abstract

The geodetic boundary value problem (GBVP) was originally formulated for the topographic surface of the Earth. It degenerates to an ellipsoidal problem, for example when topographic and downward continuation reductions have been applied. Although these ellipsoidal GBVPs possess a simpler structure than the original ones, they cannot be solved analytically, since the boundary condition still contains disturbing terms due to anisotropy, ellipticity and centrifugal components in the reference potential. Solutions of the so-called scalar-free version of the GBVP, upon which most recent practical calculations of geoidal and quasigeoidal heights are based, are considered. Starting at the linearized boundary condition and presupposing a normal field of Somigliana–Pizzetti type, the boundary condition described in spherical coordinates is expanded into a series with respect to the flattening f of the Earth. This series is truncated after the linear terms in f, and first-order solutions of the corresponding GBVP are developed in closed form on the basis of spherical integral formulae, modified by suitable reduction terms. Three alternative representations of the solution are discussed, implying corrections by adding a first-order non-spherical term to the solution, by reducing the boundary data, or by modifying the integration kernel. A numerically efficient procedure for the evaluation of ellipsoidal effects, in the case of the linearized scalar-free version of the GBVP, involving first-order ellipsoidal terms in the boundary condition, is derived, utilizing geopotential models such as EGM96.