AbstractThe Antarctic Digital Magnetic Anomaly Project is an international research effort to construct a magnetic map of the continent based on ground, satellite, marine, and aeromagnetic surveys. This paper reports the magnetic mapping of the shelf zone in the SE part of the Wilhelm Archipelago, West Antarctica, based on magnetic surveys conducted with Zodiac boats. A spectacular feature of this area is the strong magnetic anomaly of the Antarctic Peninsula (AP) batholith, which was the product of subduction-related Mesozoic–Cenozoic arc magmatism on the former margin of Western Gondwana. We constructed and analyzed a detailed magnetic map of magnetic field anomalies using field observations of rock exposures on the islands and magnetic properties of rocks from laboratory data. The oldest volcanic rocks of Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous age relate to N-NE trending bands of negative magnetic field. The largest feature in the study area is an Upper Cretaceous/Paleogene granodiorite complex that produces a positive magnetic anomaly. Many smaller anomalies are also present over gabbroid bodies of Cretaceous age. Two-dimensional magnetic modeling shows that heterogeneities in the upper crust may have magnetic susceptibilities in the range of 0.005–0.13 SI. Magnetic field anomalies also delineate an orthogonal system of tectonic faults, including the main NE fault along the Penola Strait (sub-parallel to the AP coastline) and four intersecting faults. These fault systems may be associated with different stages of continental margin evolution along the Antarctic Peninsula.

AbstractThis work contains the results of calculations performed to prove the ability of estimated orbital parameters for the replacement of dynamic models in the orbit determination of a sample low-Earth-orbiting satellite. The obtained solutions include two cases of the absorption of dynamic models. In the first case, the contribution of dynamic models, apart from the gravity field, was absorbed, i.e., the satellite motion was described by the gravity field and estimated parameters. In the second case, the contributions of all dynamic models, including the gravity field, were absorbed. For the gravity field model, the absorption concerned its selected parts. In this case, the satellite motion was modeled only by the gravity model truncated to different degrees and orders and an appropriate set of orbital parameters. In both aforementioned cases, the initial conditions were also improved. Cartesian coordinates of the Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer Mission satellite along selected reference arcs of the official reduced-dynamic orbit served as pseudo-observations in this study. The orbital parameters, also known as empirical accelerations, were determined using the least-squares method by a dedicated orbital package. The results were presented and compared in the form of the root-mean-square (RMS) values of the differences between the estimated orbits and the reference orbits, as well as the corresponding values of the obtained empirical accelerations for selected variants of solutions. The obtained accuracy of the process of the fit of the satellite orbit expressed by the corresponding RMS values, reached a millimeter level. For selected typical solutions, the distribution of residuals and power spectra are presented with an indication of characteristic errors: random and systematic periodic components. Key factors influencing the obtained fit accuracies of estimated orbits are given. Contributions of these factors in the error budget of fits of estimated orbits are also presented. Additionally, in the fit process, the performance of selected gravity models coming from different years is compared to assess the impact of gravity field errors on the results of aforementioned process.