Geodynamic Observatory Moxa Research Articles

The Superconducting Gravimeter CD-034 at Moxa Observatory: More than 20 Years of Scientific Experience and a Reanimation

In this work, advanced methods and processing schemes for the analysis of data from a Superconducting Gravimeter (SG) will be introduced and their relevance on acquired data proved. The SG CD-034 was installed on Easter of 1999 in the Geodynamic Observatory Moxa of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany. Initially, the quality of the recorded data was examined, spectra for the detection of the parasitic modes were calculated and the calibration values for the two sensors were determined. Ever since very high-quality gravity data of this SG and most of the other worldwide SGs were made available through the storage archive of the Global Geodynamics Project (GGP later changed to IGETS, International Geodynamics and Earth Tide Service) for global scientific investigations at that time. SG’s such as the one in Moxa (Germany) still deliver significant scientific value for global gravitational field studies as well as for regional/local studies which will be shortly reviewed. Examples are the detection of polar motion, the influence of continental water loading in general and in particular river basin loads, the gravimetric effect of North Sea storm surges and the study of hydro-gravimetric signals, which could be compared with satellite observations and global hydraulic models. The long-term, low-noise operation of complex SG’s requires some effort on maintenance. In order to evaluate the correct operation of the SG, new data processing steps were introduced to assist in the analysis of the data in case of issues with the instrumentation. For example, in 2012/2013 and 2020/2021 severe interference in the gravimeter electronics in Moxa led to a significant loss of data. In both cases, however, the cause could be determined, and the corresponding electronic components renewed. Since July 2021, the SG in Moxa registers again with high data quality comparable or slightly better than before the incident. Initial tests and tidal analyses confirm the validity of the old calibration factors, and the authors now look forward to the re-established long-term recording with excitement and confidence.

Tidal earth crust deformation measurements

Abstract This paper presents an application of the fiber coupled homodyne interferometers for the tide caused earth crust deformation measurements. Deformation of the earth crust mainly results from the tidal forces of sun and moon acting on the Earth, but also comes from seismic wave propagation or regional and local sources. The devices used for monitoring of such processes called strainmeters. The Geodynamic Observatory Moxa in Thuringia/Germany records and compares over the years the values gained by different stainmeters. The first laser interferometer was installed in the observatory in 2002. The new laser interferometer based setup, presented in this paper, allows direct monitoring of north-south and east-west components of the earth deformation in the range of 1–2 μm at measuring distances of 26 m.

Comparing a new laser strainmeter array with an adjacent, parallel running quartz tube strainmeter array.

In summer 2011, two new laser strainmeters about 26.6 m long were installed in N-S and E-W directions parallel to an existing quartz tube strainmeter system at the Geodynamic Observatory Moxa, Thuringia/Germany. This kind of installation is unique in the world and allows the direct comparison of measurements of horizontal length changes with different types of strainmeters for the first time. For the comparison of both data sets, we used the tidal analysis over three years, the strain signals resulting from drilling a shallow 100 m deep borehole on the ground of the observatory and long-period signals. The tidal strain amplitude factors of the laser strainmeters are found to be much closer to theoretical values (85%-105% N-S and 56%-92% E-W) than those of the quartz tube strainmeters. A first data analysis shows that the new laser strainmeters are more sensitive in the short-periodic range with an improved signal-to-noise ratio and distinctly more stable during long-term drifts of environmental parameters such as air pressure or groundwater level. We compared the signal amplitudes of both strainmeter systems at variable signal periods and found frequency-dependent amplitude differences. Confirmed by the tidal parameters, we have now a stable and high resolution laser strainmeter system that serves as calibration reference for quartz tube strainmeters.

Geoelectrical, strain and tilt investigations of hydrological processes at the broadband Geodynamical Observatory Moxa, Germany

The Geodynamic Observatory Moxa, located in Thuringia/Germany, is dedicated to studies of temporal deformations of the earth's crust and of variations of the gravity field. One of the essential issues with respect to these investigations is the reduction of the hydrological impact on the data of the gravimeters , strainmeters and tiltmeters . In order to optimise the reductions, we investigated the changes in the hydrological conditions in the woody mountain slope above the observatory with time-lapse electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), and analysed the strain and tilt measurements for prominent signatures of pore pressure induced subsurface deformations. Here we present the results for two profiles – parallel and perpendicular to the slope – measured with ERT during 33 campaigns between June 2007 and April 2010. Resistivity changes and variations of apparent soil moisture, inferred from ERT sections, were found to primarily occur in the first two metres of the subsurface. These variations can be related to subsurface flow in the upper two metres induced by precipitation events and snowmelts. Trees close to the profiles only show a minimum impact on the resistivity and soil moisture changes. Furthermore, systematic hydrologically induced deformations can be observed in hodographs of strain and tilt measurements for large precipitation events (> 80 mm) and snowmelts. In the strain data a short-term (< 3 days) dilatational signal is found with an amplitude of 20 nstrain to 60 nstrain and a long-term (> 7 days) compressional signal between 40 nstrain and 180 nstrain. The preferential N–S direction of long-term deformational signals (> 1 week) is also observed in the tilt data. The direction of tilt changes (25 nrad–120 nrad) is nearly parallel to the drainage direction of the nearby Silberleite creek indicating variations of pore pressure gradients during hydrological events. The results of these hydrological studies at the Geodynamic Observatory Moxa can be used for removing the time dependent hydrological signal in strain and tilt data and, thus, better correction algorithms for hydrological impacts can be developed to enhance the value of the data for geodynamic studies. • We present investigations of hydrological processes at the Geodynamic Observatory Moxa, Germany. • We present results of time-lapse electrical resistivity tomography. • Strain and tilt data are analysed for prominent hydrologically induced deformations. • Systematic hydrologically induced deformations are found.

Combined geological and gravimetric mapping and modelling for an improved understanding of observed high-resolution gravity variations: a case study for the Global Geodynamics Project (GGP) station Moxa, Germany

Geodynamic observatories around the globe continuously monitor signals like gravity, tilt and strain as a function of time. However, global signals are often masked by local effects, caused by the direct surroundings of the station, including the local geological setting. This link is well established for superconducting gravimeters (SG) that observe the gravity field variations at very high resolution. An enhancement of the SG time series by the application of local correction is exemplarily shown here in a very practicable procedure for the Geodynamic Observatory Moxa, Germany. We show how the combination of geological and gravimetrical mapping and modelling around Moxa results in a significant correction of the original gravity data, as can be proven by comparison with the satellite-derived gravity field. Detailed geological mapping of the observatory surroundings, including measurements of fold axes, foliations and joints, was the basis of the present study. The fold structure in the area of interest was interpreted by geometrical 3D modelling. The complete representation of different rock types in space also provides a better understanding of the local hydro-geological situation. Using a combination of the 3D geological model with the high-resolution Bouguer map of the observatory surroundings, we developed a 3D density model. This model enables the correction of small gravity effects caused by mass variations close to the SG, in particular local hydro-geological mass changes. Thus, the procedure presented here, based on a close connection of geology and gravimetry, is a powerful tool for the reduction of local gravity effects on SG recordings. It should be applicable to SG stations worldwide, where similar hydrologically driven mass changes can be assumed.

Hydrological Effects on Gravity at the Geodynamic Observatory Moxa

Hydrological Effects on Gravity at the Geodynamic Observatory Moxa

Evaluating local hydrological modelling by temporal gravity observations and a gravimetric three-dimensional model

SUMMARY An approach for the evaluation of local hydrological modelling is presented: the deployment of temporal terrestrial gravity measurements and gravimetric 3-D modelling in addition to hydrological point observations. Of particular interest is to what extent such information can be used to improve the understanding of hydrological process dynamics and to evaluate hydrological models. Because temporal gravity data contain integral information about hydrological mass changes they can be considered as a valuable augmentation to traditional hydrological observations. On the other hand, hydrological effects need to be eliminated from high-quality gravity time-series because they interfere with small geodynamic signals. In areas with hilly topography and/or inhomogeneous subsoil, a simple reduction based on hydrological point measurements is usually not sufficient. For such situations, the underlying hydrological processes in the soil and the disaggregated bedrock need to be considered in their spatial and temporal dynamics to allow the development of a more sophisticated reduction. Regarding these issues interdisciplinary research has been carried out in the surroundings of the Geodynamic Observatory Moxa, Germany. At Moxa, hydrologically induced gravity variations of several 10 nm s−2 are observed by the stationarily operating superconducting gravimeter and by spatially distributed and repeated high-precision measurements with transportable relative instruments. In addition, hydrological parameters are monitored which serve as input for a local hydrological catchment model for the area of about 2 km2 around the observatory. From this model, spatial hydrological variations are gained in hourly time steps and included as density changes of the subsoil in a well-constrained gravimetric 3-D model to derive temporal modelled gravity variations. The gravity variations obtained from this combined modelling correspond very well to the observed hydrological gravity changes for both, short period and seasonal signals. From the modelling the amplitude of the impact on gravity of hydrological changes occurring in different distances to the gravimeter location can be inferred. Possible modifications on the local hydrological model are discussed to further improve the quality of the model. Furthermore, a successful reduction of local hydrological effects in the superconducting gravimeter data is developed. After this reduction global seasonal fluctuations are unmasked which are in correspondence to GRACE observations and to global hydrological models.

Finite element modelling of atmosphere loading effects on strain, tilt and displacement at multi-sensor stations

SUMMARY Strain- and tiltmeter observations are composed of signals of different origin. Tides are a wellknown phenomenon that can be extracted from the time series by tidal analysis. Depending on the location of the station, residuals, however, contain contributions of different magnitudes from ocean loading, changes in atmospheric or hydrological loading, anthropogenic induced signals and tectonics. Reductions of the residual variations are indispensable for extraction of, for example the pure tectonical signal. One of the challenges in view of the reductions is to understand transfer mechanisms between loading and local conditions, such as topography, cavity and geological features, which lead to additional or modified deformations. In this study, systematic numerical modelling using the Finite Element method with elastic rheology is carried out to estimate these effects. Barometric pressure changes are used as example for the load to determine the additional deformations. Strain- and tiltmeters are considered as instrumentation, having nominal resolutions of 0.2 nstrain and 1 nrad, respectively. The cavity and the topographic effect are systematically investigated with sophisticated models incorporating typical topographic features, such as a plain, a hill flank and a valley. Representative for stations worldwide, four observatories in Central Europe are modelled: the Geodetic Observatory Wettzell (Germany), the Sopron Observatory (Hungary), the Geodynamic Observatory Moxa and the Black Forest Observatory (BFO) (both Germany). The modelling shows that cavity and topographic effects occur in the same order of magnitude and that both effects interact leading to deformations partly intertwined in a complex way. This notwithstanding, the results explain observed deformation signals at the observatories. The systematic modelling helps to better understand the basic processes, from which criteria for the selection of future observation sites are inferred.

Natural and man-made induced hydrological signals, detected by high resolution tilt observations at the Geodynamic Observatory Moxa/Germany

It is well known, that high resolution borehole tiltmeters are able to observe deformations, caused by hydrological variations. The quantitative coherence is often unexplained, especially if the sources of deformation can be based on both natural as well as man-made hydrological variations. Since 1999 tilt observations have been taken at the Geodynamic Observatory Moxa in Thuringia/Germany. In two 50 m and one 100 m deep boreholes the ASKANIA tiltmeters are installed. The high quality of the recorded tilt data can be proved by the analysis of well known geodynamic signals like the tides of the solid Earth and the free modes of the Earth. Here we focus on investigations of induced tilt signals caused by pore pressure changes due to precipitation and/or ground water level changes and, in addition, on man-made induced pore pressure variations. The correlation of natural ground water level changes with the observed tilt data can be shown by different events of precipitation and snow melting. However, also the load effect of a big truck yields a small elastic deformation which is clearly detectable in the ground water level recording. The correlated tilt effect is discussed regarding changes of the tilt amplitude and the orientation of the induced pendulum tip movement during the load phase.

The impact of soil moisture changes on gravity residuals obtained with a superconducting gravimeter

Summary Time dependent observations of the gravity field are carried out to gain a better understanding about the dynamics of the Earth. Terrestrial measurements are made with gravimeters which monitor temporal changes in the vertical component of the Earth’s gravity field. At present, superconducting gravimeters (SG) are the most precise instruments for long-term stationary continuous observations. Such an instrument, as part of a worldwide gravimeter network, is located at the Geodynamic Observatory Moxa, Germany. The measurements of the SG are affected among other environmental influences by hydrological mass balance changes. The temporal and spatial variability of water distribution in the surrounding of the SG makes a quantification and reduction of such effects a challenging task. For further investigations of these influences an interdisciplinary research project which comprises scientists from hydrology, hydrogeology, geophysics and soil sciences has been launched in the surrounding of the observatory. For this project, the small (≈2 km 2 ) catchment which surrounds the observatory has been instrumented with soil moisture and groundwater probes at various locations as well as additional precipitation gauges and a climate measurement station for monitoring of climatological and hydrological parameters in high spatial and temporal resolution. Secondly, a distributed and spatially high resolution hydrological model, based on the modelling system J2000, has been set up for continuous simulation of the hydrological processes in the catchment using daily and hourly time steps. The main purpose of the project is to explore the types and magnitudes of hydrological influence on gravity monitored by the very sensitive superconducting gravimeter. Preliminary assessment showed that the gravimeter records contain noticeable influence due to variations of groundwater, soil water content and snow coverage. These influences interfere with the geodynamic signals, but the observed gravity changes carry interesting information from a hydrological point of view, in that a method for direct, integrative and non-invasive measurement of soil water contents and groundwater variations would be available if the hydrological influence on the response of the gravimeter records is extracted and utilised. This paper concentrates on the measurement and spatially distributed simulation of soil water contents and their effect on the signal of the SG. This is done by qualitative comparison of the volumetric soil water content with the observed gravity variations. Additionally, examples of how the modelled water volumes can be translated into gravity variations by means of a 3D gravimetric model is demonstrated and briefly discussed towards the end of the paper.

Detection of small hydrological variations in gravity by repeated observations with relative gravimeters

Recently, a new application of time-dependent gravity observations is emerging: the study of natural hydrological mass changes and their underlying processes. Complementary to GRACE data and continuous recordings with superconducting gravimeters, repeated observations with relative instruments on a local network may contribute to gain additional information on spatial changes in hydrology. The questions that need to be addressed are whether the results of these repeated measurements will be of sufficiently high resolution and accuracy, as well as how unique the information obtained will be. To examine this, a local gravity network with maximum point distances of 65 m was established in a hilly area around the Geodynamic Observatory Moxa, Germany. Using three to five LaCoste & Romberg relative gravimeters repeated measurements were carried out in a seasonal rhythm as well as at particular events like snowmelt or dryness in 17 campaigns between November 2004 and April 2007. The standard deviations obtained by least squares adjustment range from ±9 to ±14 nm/s2 for a gravity difference of one campaign, thus for gravity changes between two campaigns from ±13 to ±20 nm/s2. Between the points of the network, spatial gravity changes of up to 171 nm/s2 (139 nm/s2 between two successive campaigns) could be proven significantly. They correlate with changes in the local hydrological situation. Particularly, a steep slope next to the observatory is identified as a gravimetrically significant hydrological compartment. The results obtained contribute to an improved reduction of the local hydrological signal in continuous gravity recordings and provide constraints to hydrological models.

Numerical modelling of deformation changes induced by lake-level fluctuations of the Hohenwarte reservoir, Thuringia, Germany

The Hohenwarte reservoir in southeast Thuringia (Germany) is a medium-sized artificial reservoir, holding on average 180 million m 3 of water. It was constructed between 1936 and 1943 and is operational since then. The water load impounded induces stress and deformations of the underlying crust and upper mantle. The Geodynamic Observatory Moxa is located around 4 km to the north. The observatory is equipped with seismometers and sensitive tilt- and strainmeters, accurate to the nrad and nstrain range. We explore the deformation effects caused by the water load of the Hohenwarte reservoir, both on a short-term seasonal time scale and a long-term decadal time scale. The seasonal effect, mainly induced by elastic deformation, results in tilt and strain deformation in the 4 μ rad and 1 μ strain ranges, respectively. Long-term decadal variations, however, are unlikely to be significant, if a realistic viscoelastic structure of the underlying upper mantle is used.

Strainmeters at Moxa observatory, Germany

Since 1997, two quartz tube strainmeters at the Geodynamic Observatory Moxa, located 30 km south of Jena, are used to observe long-period horizontal deformation signals. Both strainmeters are 26 m long with orientations NS and EW and are installed in a gallery. To this system a third component was added in 1999, which connects the ends of the quartz tubes diagonally. This component is realised as a laser strainmeter, running through a 38 m long horizontal borehole. The first data analyses show high signal-to-noise ratios for the tidal frequencies and also the free oscillations caused by the Sumatra earthquake in December 2004 are clearly detectable. It can be shown that the quartz strainmeter extending in EW direction generally contains significant more noise induced by barometric pressure than the NS-component. The laser strainmeter record shows strong influences of changing barometric pressure, due to the fact that the beam does not run in a vacuum. This influence is reduced in the higher frequencies by sealing the ends of the horizontal borehole with high quality glass. In addition, the observations are clearly temperature dependent and the influence of rainfall could be verified by two irrigation experiments.

Results from 44 months of observations with a superconducting gravimeter at Moxa/Germany

Abstract Results for more than 42 months of observations with the superconducting gravimeter CD-034 at the Geodynamic Observatory Moxa are discussed. Moxa observatory is one of the newer stations within the ‘Global Geodynamics Project’ (GGP). A special feature of the gravimeter at Moxa is its dual sensor system; differences in the results obtained from the two sensor recordings are generally well within the standard deviations of the tidal analysis. One significant difference concerns the slightly different drift rates of 31 and 49.5 nm/s2 per year for upper and lower sensor; both sensor drifts can be fitted by a linear function. We find that the noise levels are close to the ‘New Low Noise Model’ for the seismic-modes and are also low in the tidal bands. Due to this low noise, Moxa is a station well suited to search for small geodynamic signals. The long-period variation in the gravity residuals correlates well with the polar motion. The difference signal between the two sensor recordings has a peak-to-peak amplitude of about 6 nm/s2 and shows systematic variations. Its spectrum is characterised by instrumental noise between 0.2 and 0.4 cph. The noise level of the difference and of the sum of the two residual datasets are clearly lower, respectively, higher than the noise contents of the gravity residuals themselves. This is a strong indication for the existence of broadband signals common to the two residual datasets, leading to the conjecture that the reduction of environmental effects is still not sufficient. Our results once more emphasize the necessity to correct the data for barometric pressure effects when analyzing the data for seismic modes. The reduction visibly increases the signal-to-noise ratio in the low frequencies of the mode band and helps to avoid misinterpreations of peaks. Besides the well known barometric pressure influence we can establish hydrological effects in the data which are probably caused by soil moisture and groundwater table variations as well as by batch-wise water movement within the weathering layer. As the major part of the observatory surroundings is above gravimeter level, an anticorrelation between hydrological and gravity changes is observed. In addition, it can be shown that global hydrological effects reach an order of magnitude that makes it necessary to consider these effects when analyzing long-period signals like polar motion. Vice versa these effects are large enough to be detectable in the gravity data. A first joint analysis of five datasets from the GGP network shows no indications for signals related to the Slichter triplet or core modes.

Comparison of Data Sets Recorded with the Dual Sphere Superconducting Gravimeter CD 034 at the Geodynamic Observatory Moxa

Comparison of Data Sets Recorded with the Dual Sphere Superconducting Gravimeter CD 034 at the Geodynamic Observatory Moxa