mGal Level Research Articles

Results from the first strapdown airborne gravimetry campaign over the Lake District of Turkey

The first production-oriented strapdown airborne gravimetry in Turkey was carried out during fall 2019 over the Turkish Lake District. Comparisons at the large amounts of crossover points yield RMSE values below 1 mGal level, and the external comparison with the latest high-resolution global geopotential model (GGM) shows a mean bias of around 1.1 mGal where the largest deviations are observed on the areas that could not be resolved by the GGM. The incorporation of new airborne data into the gravity field computations is supposed to reduce the errors stem from the data voids and enhance the maps for better interpretations.

Impact of temperature stabilization on the strapdown airborne gravimetry: a case study in Central Turkey

Airborne gravimetry with strapdown inertial sensors has been a valuable tool for many years to fill in the gravity data gaps on the areas not accessible by land. Accuracies of 1 mGal level with off-the-shelf navigation-grade inertial measurement units (IMU) can only be achieved provided that the accelerometer drifts mainly caused by the temperature variations inside the IMU housing are separated from the gravity signal. Although there are several strategies proposed in the literature to deal with this inseparability problem, we use a thermal stabilization system (iTempStab) added on an iNAT-RQH navigation-grade IMU and investigate its performance over a test region in central Turkey with moderate topography and highly qualified ground truth gravity data. Two test flights were performed in 2017 and 2018 with and without iTempStab add-on following almost the same flight trajectories. During the first flight in 2017 with iNAT-RQH only, which lasted almost 5.5 h, there were considerable temperature variations inside the IMU housing from 39.1 to 46.0 °C. A simple thermal correction based on a laboratory calibration done before the flight was applied to the vertical Z-accelerometer in the pre-processing stage. However, temperature changes were within 0.1 °C during the second test flight in 2018 with TempStab add-on. The temperature stabilization gained by the iTempStab add-on produced better cross-over statistics. While the RMSE of the non-adjusted cross-over residuals was about 2.6 mGal, it reduced by 50% with iTempStab add-on. The adjusted cross-over differences of the 2018 flight yielded an RMSE of about 0.5 mGal, which is a remarkable precision for the strapdown gravimetry. The comparison with upward continued ground gravity data at flight altitudes suggests that the thermal stabilization system shows also remarkable improvements in the residual statistics. The range of the residuals decreases from ± 10 to ± 5 mGal, the standard deviation decreases from 2.19 to 0.94 mGal, and the RMSE decreases from 2.24 to 1.48 mGal, respectively, with the iTempStab add-on. It can be concluded that the thermal stabilization system significantly improves the accelerometer stability and therefore the precision and accuracy of the strapdown airborne gravity estimates.

Topographic gravity modeling for global Bouguer maps to degree 2160: Validation of spectral and spatial domain forward modeling techniques at the 10 microGal level

AbstractOver the past years, spectral techniques have become a standard to model Earth's global gravity field to 10 km scales, with the EGM2008 geopotential model being a prominent example. For some geophysical applications of EGM2008, particularly Bouguer gravity computation with spectral techniques, a topographic potential model of adequate resolution is required. However, current topographic potential models have not yet been successfully validated to degree 2160, and notable discrepancies between spectral modeling and Newtonian (numerical) integration well beyond the 10 mGal level have been reported. Here we accurately compute and validate gravity implied by a degree 2160 model of Earth's topographic masses. Our experiments are based on two key strategies, both of which require advanced computational resources. First, we construct a spectrally complete model of the gravity field which is generated by the degree 2160 Earth topography model. This involves expansion of the topographic potential to the 15th integer power of the topography and modeling of short‐scale gravity signals to ultrahigh degree of 21,600, translating into unprecedented fine scales of 1 km. Second, we apply Newtonian integration in the space domain with high spatial resolution to reduce discretization errors. Our numerical study demonstrates excellent agreement (8 μGgal RMS) between gravity from both forward modeling techniques and provides insight into the convergence process associated with spectral modeling of gravity signals at very short scales (few km). As key conclusion, our work successfully validates the spectral domain forward modeling technique for degree 2160 topography and increases the confidence in new high‐resolution global Bouguer gravity maps.

Drift reduction in strapdown airborne gravimetry using a simple thermal correction

Previous work has shown, that strapdown airborne gravimeters can have a comparable or even superior performance in the higher frequency domain (resolution of few kilometres), compared to classical stable-platform air gravimeters using springs, such as the LaCoste and Romberg (LCR) S-gravimeter. However, the longer wavelengths (tens of kilometres and more) usually suffer from drifts of the accelerometers of the strapdown inertial measurement unit (IMU). In this paper, we analyse the drift characteristics of the QA2000 accelerometers, which are the most widely used navigation-grade IMU accelerometers. A large portion of these drifts is shown to come from thermal effects. A lab calibration procedure is used to derive a thermal correction, which is then applied to data from 18 out of 19 flights from an airborne gravity campaign carried out in Chile in October 2013. The IMU-derived gravity closure error can be reduced by 91 % on average, from 3.72 mGal/h to only 0.33 mGal/h (RMS), which is an excellent long-term performance for strapdown gravimetry. Also, the IMU results are compared to the LCR S-gravimeter, which is known to have an excellent long-term stability. Again, the thermal correction yields a significant reduction of errors, with IMU and LCR aerogravity results being consistent at the 2 mGal level.

A Flight Test of the Strapdown Airborne Gravimeter SGA-WZ in Greenland

An airborne gravimeter is one of the most important tools for gravity data collection over large areas with mGal accuracy and a spatial resolution of several kilometers. In August 2012, a flight test was carried out to determine the feasibility and to assess the accuracy of the new Chinese SGA-WZ strapdown airborne gravimeter in Greenland, in an area with good gravity coverage from earlier marine and airborne surveys. An overview of this new system SGA-WZ is given, including system design, sensor performance and data processing. The processing of the SGA-WZ includes a 160 s length finite impulse response filter, corresponding to a spatial resolution of 6 km. For the primary repeated line, a mean r.m.s. deviation of the differences was less than 1.5 mGal, with the error estimate confirmed from ground truth data. This implies that the SGA-WZ could meet standard geophysical survey requirements at the 1 mGal level.

Determination of Moving‐Base Acceleration for Airborne Gravimetry

AbstractAirborne gravimetry is a new technique for determination of earth gravity, in which gravimeter, GPS and other sensors are used. Its basic theory is that gravimeter senses the total accelerations including gravity acceleration, inertial acceleration and some other accelerations; and GPS determines inertial acceleration of moving‐base; then gravity will be yielded if inertial acceleration can be subtracted from total accelerations with some corrections. Therefore, determination of inertial acceleration by using GPS is one of the key problems to airborne gravimetry. Firstly, the mathematic model of direct calculation method is deduced in this paper. Then, data from an airborne gravimetry test are processed. Finally, the acceleration precision is evaluated in static and kinematic condition respectively. The results indicate that the acceleration accuracy of 0.4~0.9 mGal level can be achieved at 60 s interval in static condition and 1~3 mGal level can be achieved at 90 s interval in kinematic condition.

１次元重力探査による断層周辺の密度構造推定 樫原断層および麓村断層について

In order to evaluate the capability of one-dimensional microgravity investigations, we carried out two test surveys across the Katagihara fault in the southwest of Kyoto basin and the Fumotomura fault at the foothills of Suzuka Range. Since seismic reflection survey had already been carried out in these faults, the Bouguer anomaly due to the fault structures was expected in advance at an order of 0.1 mgal across the Katagihara fault and less than 0.1 mgal across the Fumotomura fault. It was also estimated that the spacing of the gravity points should be less than 50 meter to reveal the structures. We therefore conducted precise gravity measurements using a LaCoste & Romberg gravimeter (G-type) at about a 50 meter interval, and also carried out leveling surveys on the same points using a Wild NA3000 digital level. Moreover, we paid much attention for terrain corrections using the 50 meter DEM (Digital Elevation Model) provided by Geographical Survey Institute and partially using a 10 meter DEM compiled by ourselves. Consequently, we achieved 0.1 mgal level precisions for almost all the survey points. Using the gravity anomaly data, density structures in both survey areas were estimated and compared with the structures obtained from seismic reflection survey. The main results are as follows ; (1) comparatively simple structures are obtained to explain the gravity anomaly in the Katagihara fault, (2) the density contrast between the basement and the sedimentary layer is 0.58 g/cm3 in the Katagihara fault, (3) no gravity anomaly due to the displacement on the fault plain is observed in the Fumotomora fault, and (4) possibility of a high density layer is observed beneath the Tokai Group. Although the gravity survey has some limitations and drawbacks, it certainly gives us useful information about the density contrasts. Moreover, one-dimensional gravity survey is quite easy to conduct with very low cost. We therefore recommend that this kind of gravity surveys should be carried out whenever seismic reflection survey is conducted.

Airborne geoid determination

Airborne geoid mapping techniques may provide the opportunity to improve the geoid over vast areas of the Earth, such as polar areas, tropical jungles and mountainous areas, and provide an accurate “seam-less” geoid model across most coastal regions. Determination of the geoid by airborne methods relies on the development of airborne gravimetry, which in turn is dependent on developments in kinematic GPS. Routine accuracy of airborne gravimetry are now at the 2 mGal level, which may translate into 5–10 cm geoid accuracy on regional scales. The error behaviour of airborne gravimetry is well-suited for geoid determination, with high-frequency survey and downward continuation noise being offset by the low-pass gravity to geoid filtering operation. In the paper the basic principles of airborne geoid determination are outlined, and examples of results of recent airborne gravity and geoid surveys in the North Sea and Greenland are given.

A comparison of stable platform and strapdown airborne gravity

To date, operational airborne gravity results have been obtained using either a damped two-axis stable platform gravimeter system such as the LaCoste and Romberg (LCR) S-model marine gravimeter or a strapdown inertial navigation system (INS), showing comparable accuracies. In June 1998 three flight tests were undertaken which tested an LCR gravimeter and a strapdown INS gravity system side by side. To the authors' knowledge, this was the first time such a comparison flight was undertaken. The flights occurred in Disko Bay, off the west coast of Greenland. Several of the flight lines were partly flown along existing shipborne gravity profiles to allow for an independent source of comparison of the results. The results and analysis of these flight tests are presented. The measurement method and error models for both the stable platform and strapdown INS gravity systems are presented and contrasted. An intercomparison of gravity estimates from both systems is given, along with a comparison of the individual estimates with existing shipborne gravity profiles. The results of the flight tests show that the gravity estimates from the two systems agree at the 2–3 mGal level, after the removal of a linear bias. This is near the combined noise level of the two systems. It appears that a combination of both systems would provide an ideal airborne gravity survey system, combining the excellent bias stability of the LCR gravimeter with the higher dynamic range and increased spatial resolution of the strapdown INS.

Differentiation for High-Precision GPS Velocity and Acceleration Determination

Accurate estimates of the velocity and acceleration of a platform are often needed in high dynamic positioning, airborne gravimetry, and geophysics. In turn, differentiation of GPS signals is a crucial process for obtaining these estimates. It is important in the measurement domain where, for example, the phase measurements are used along with their instantaneous derivative (Doppler) to estimate position and velocity. It is also important in postprocessing, where acceleration is usually estimated by differentiating estimates of position and velocity. Various methods of differentiating a signal can have very different effects on the resulting derivative, and their suitability varies from situation to situation. These comments set the stage for the investigations in this article. The objective is twofold: (1) to carry out a comprehensive study of possible differentiation methods, characterizing each in the frequency domain; and (2) to use real data to demonstrate each of these methods in both of the measurement and position domains, in conditions of variable, high, or unknown dynamics. Examples are given using real GPS data in both the measurement domain and in the position and velocity domain. The appropriate differentiator is used in several cases of varying dynamics to derive a Doppler signal from carrier phase measurements (rather than using the raw Doppler generated by the receiver). In the statistic case, it is seen that the accuracy of velocity estimates can be improved from 4.0 mm/s to 0.7 mm/s by using the correct filter. In conditions of medium dynamics experienced in an airborne gravity survey, it is demonstrated that accelerations as the 2–4 mGal level (1 mGal = 0.00001 m/s2) can be obtained at the required filtering periods. Finally, a precision motion table is used to show that when using the correct filter, velocity estimates under high dynamics can be improved by an order of magnitude to 27.0 mm/s. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.