Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “geodetics”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 73 records · Page 4

Few millimeter precision for baselines in the California Permanent GPS Geodetic Array

Geodetic measurements with Rogue GPS receivers from sites in the California Permanent GPS geodetic Array (PGGA) have been analyzed using the GIPSY orbit-determination and baseline-estimation software. Based on an unbiased selection of 23 daily measurements spanning 8 months, the LF contributions to the long-term repeatabilities of baseline measurements are approximately 5, 3, and 8 mm for the east, north, and vertical components. Short-term contributions to the long-term repeatabilities were evaluated by examining data from the week of October 21, 1990, which showed the lowest short-term scatter. For this week, daily repeatabilities of 2-3 mm in the horizontal and 4 mm in the vertical have been achieved for the 172-km JPL-Pinyon baseline, consistent with carrier phase date noise of about 6 mm. High quality (less than about 5 mm) repeatabilities have been achieved for all components of the other baselines as well.

Lindqwister, Ulf J.↗

Geodetic Precession Vs. Frame Dragging

Report discusses precession of freely falling or orbiting gyroscope with respect to geodetic precession and frame-dragged precession, predicted by metric theories of gravitation. Geodetic precession caused by motion of gyroscope in gravitational field of massive body; frame-dragged precession caused by gravitomagnetic interaction, which is magnetic-like effect caused by motion of massive body. Both effects small. Relevant to investigations in orbital mechanics, navigation, and general relativity.

Krisher, Timothy P.↗

GPS orbit determination at the National Geodetic Survey

The National Geodetic Survey (NGS) independently generates precise ephemerides for all available Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites. Beginning in 1991, these ephemerides were produced from double-differenced phase observations solely from the Cooperative International GPS Network (CIGNET) tracking sites. The double-difference technique combines simultaneous observations of two satellites from two ground stations effectively eliminating satellite and ground receiver clock errors, and the Selective Availability (S/A) signal degradation currently in effect. CIGNET is a global GPS tracking network whose primary purpose is to provide data for orbit production. The CIGNET data are collected daily at NGS and are available to the public. Each ephemeris covers a single week and is available within one month after the data were taken. Verification is by baseline repeatability and direct comparison with other ephemerides. Typically, an ephemeris is accurate at a few parts in 10(exp 7). This corresponds to a 10 meter error in the reported satellite positions. NGS is actively investigating methods to improve the accuracy of its orbits, the ultimate goal being one part in 10(exp 8) or better. The ephemerides are generally available to the public through the Coast Guard GPS Information Center or directly from NGS through the Geodetic Information Service. An overview of the techniques and software used in orbit generation will be given, the current status of CIGNET will be described, and a summary of the ephemeris verification results will be presented.

M. S. Schenewerk↗

Variation of seismic slip in the Gulf of California and the possible effect on geodetic measurements of Pacific-North American plate motion

A simple dislocation model is used to evaluate the variation of seismic slip in the Gulf of California and the possible effect on geodetic measurements of Pacific-North American plate motion by means of an estimation of the surface displacements due to typical transform events in the gulf. The results of this numerical calculation suggest that if a large transform event (about 1.5 x 10 exp 26 dyne cm) were to occur within 100 to 200 km of a geodetic baseline, the relative distance measurements could be affected by up to 15 mm. This is marginally at the error level of a few millimeters plus 2 parts in 10 exp 8 of baseline length for GOMEX measurements, which thus are sensitive only to the far-field displacement along the plate boundary.

Tajima, Fumiko↗

Atmospheric gravitational influence on geodetic satellite orbits - Starlette analysis

The atmosphere is constantly in motion. The changing gravitational force due to the air mass movement will slightly perturb the orbit of a satellite. As the instrument accuracy for geodetic satellites improves, failure to model this perturbation can result in significant systematic errors in the orbit determination. The latter, in turn, will degrade the Earth's gravity solutions. A direct modeling technique to analyze the atmospheric gravitational influence on geodetic satellite is developed. We use the global surface pressure data from the ECMWF Initial Analysis Database to compute the gravitational force due to atmospheric perturbation exerted on given satellite as a function of time during selected orbital arcs. Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) tracking data for selected Starlette (altitude 900 km) orbital arcs are used to test the computed force model. Although only a slight reduction in the rms residuals is observed when the atmospheric gravitational perturbation is included in the force model for data reduction of the SLR data, significant improvement is obtained in the predictability of the satellite orbit. Comprehensive studies involving more definitive test criteria and more refined models are still needed.

Chao, B. F.↗

Permanent GPS Geodetic Array in Southern California (PGGA) and GPS observations in Indonesia

The Permanent GPS Geodetic Array (PGGA) is a network of permanent monitoring GPS stations in southern California devoted to the continuous measurement of crustal deformation in near real-time. The PGGA plays a unique role in studies of the kinematics of crustal deformation and the earthquake cycle in southern California because it is also providing temporally dense geodetic measurements of crustal motion over periods of minutes to variations in regional crustal strain. As it expands and matures the PGGA will play an increasingly important role in the study of active tectonics of southern California by bridging the frequency range between seismology, observatory geodesy, paleoseismology, and geology. In Indonesia GPS data is used for measurement of a large scale crustal deformation, extending from north China to the Indonesian archipelago. Indonesia offers a tremendous laboratory to study some of the processes that build continents, and mountains are active there. We began GPS observations in August 1989 on mainland Sumatra and the Mentawai Islands to study the phenomena of oblique plate convergence. We have analyzed the Indonesian data in conjunction with data collected on Christmas and Cocos Islands and at Darwin, Australia, and with the triangulation data in Sumatra.

Bock, Yehuds↗

Permanent GPS Geodetic Array in Southern California

The southern California Permanent GPS Geodetic Array (PGGA) was established in the spring of 1990 to evaluate continuous Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements as a new too] for monitoring crustal deformation. Southern California is an ideal location because of the relatively high rate of tectonic deformation, the high probability of intense seismicity, the long history of conventional and space geodetic measurements, and the availability of a well developed infrastructure to support continuous operations. Within several months of the start of regular operations, the PGGA recorded far-field coseismic displacements induced by the June 28, 1992 (M(sub w)=7.3), Landers earthquake, the largest magnitude earthquake in California in the past 40 years and the first one to be recorded by a continuous GPS array. Only nineteen months later, on 17 January 1994, the PGGA recorded coseismic displacements for the strongest earthquake to strike the Los Angeles basin in two decades, the (M(sub e)=6.7) Northridge earthquake. At the time of the Landers earthquake, only seven continuous GPS sites were operating in southern California; by the beginning of 1994, three more sites had been added to the array. However, only a pair of sites were situated in the Los Angeles basin. The destruction caused by the Northridge earthquake spurred a fourfold increase in the number of continuous GPS sites in southern California within 2 years of this event. The PGGA is now the regional component of the Southern California Integrated GPS Network (SCIGN), a major ongoing densification of continuous GPS sites, with a concentration in the Los Angeles metropolitan region. Continuous GPS provides temporally dense measurements of surface displacements induced by crustal deformation processes including interseismic, coseismic, postseismic, and aseismic deformation and the potential for detecting anomalous events such as preseismic deformation and interseismic strain variations. Although strain meters yield much higher short-term resolution to a period of about 1 year, a single continuous GPS site is significantly less expensive than a single strain meter and probably has better long-term stability beyond a 1-year period. Compared to less frequent field measurements, continuous GPS provides the means to better characterize the errors in GPS position measurements and thereby obtain more realistic estimates of derived parameters such as site velocities.

Green, Cecil H.↗

Plate Motion and Crustal Deformation Estimated with Geodetic Data from the Global Positioning System

We use geodetic data taken over four years with the Global Positioning System (GPS) to estimate: (1) motion between six major plates and (2) motion relative to these plates of ten sites in plate boundary zones. The degree of consistency between geodetic velocities and rigid plates requires the (one-dimensional) standard errors in horizontal velocities to be approx. 2 mm/yr. Each of the 15 angular velocities describing motion between plate pairs that we estimate with GPS differs insignificantly from the corresponding angular velocity in global plate motion model NUVEL-1A, which averages motion over the past 3 m.y. The motion of the Pacific plate relative to both the Eurasian and North American plates is observed to be faster than predicted by NUVEL-1A, supporting the inference from Very Long B ase- line Interferometry (VLBI) that motion of the Pacific plate has speed up over the past few m.y. The Eurasia-North America pole of rotation is estimated to be north of NUVEL-1A, consistent with the independent hypothesis that the pole has recently migrated northward across northeast Asia to near the Lena River delta. Victoria, which lies above the main thrust at the Cascadia subduction zone, moves relative to the interior of the overriding plate at 30% of the velocity of the subducting plate, reinforcing the conclusion that the thrust there is locked beneath the continental shelf and slope.

Argus, Donald F.↗

The Study of Effects of Time Variations in the Earth's Gravity Field on Geodetic Satellites

The temporal variations in the Earth's gravity field are the consequences of complex interactions between atmosphere, ocean, solid Earth, hydrosphere and cryosphere. The signal ranges from several hours to 18.6 years to geological time scale. The direct and indirect consequences of these variations are manifested in such phenomena as changes in the global sea level and in the global climate pattern. These signals produce observable geodetic satellites. The primary objectives of the proposed effects on near-Earth orbiting investigation include (1) the improved determination of the time-varying gravity field parameters (scale from a few hour to 18.6 year and secular) using long-term satellite laser rs ranging (SLR) observations to multiple geodetic satellites, and (2) the enhanced understanding of these variations with their associated meteorological and geophysical consequences.

Shum, C. K.↗

Application of Geodetic VLBI Data to Obtaining Long-Term Light Curves for Astrophysics

The long-term light curve is important to research on binary black holes and disk instability in AGNs. The light curves have been drawn mainly using single dish data provided by the University of Michigan Radio Observatory and the Metsahovi Radio Observatory. Hence, thus far, we have to research on limited sources. I attempt to draw light curves using VLBI data for those sources that have not been monitored by any observatories with single dish. I developed software, analyzed all geodetic VLBI data available at the IVS Data Centers, and drew the light curves at 8 GHz. In this report, I show the tentative results for two AGNs. I compared two light curves of 4C39.25, which were drawn based on single dish data and on VLBI data. I confirmed that the two light curves were consistent. Furthermore, I succeeded in drawing the light curve of 0454-234 with VLBI data, which has not been monitored by any observatory with single dish. In this report, I suggest that the geodetic VLBI archive data is useful to obtain the long-term light curves at radio bands for astrophysics.

Kijima, Masachika↗

c5++ - Multi-Technique Analysis Software for Next Generation Geodetic Instruments

Processing of space geodetic techniques should be carried out with consistent and utmost up-todate physical models. Therefore, c5++ is being developed, which will act as a framework under which dedicated space geodetic applications can be created. Due to its nature, combination of different techniques as well as automated processing of VLBI experiments will become possible with c5++.

Hobiger, Thomas↗

VERA Geodetic Activities

This report briefly describes the geodetic activities of VERA in the year 2012. The regular geodetic observations are carried out both in K- and S/X-bands. The frequency of regular observations is three times a month-twice for the VERA internal observations in K-band. The networks of the S/X sessions are JADE of GSI and IVS-T2. The raw data of the T2 and JADE sessions are electronically transferred to the Bonn, Haystack, and GSI correlators via Internet. Gravimetric observations are carried out at the VERA stations. An SG was installed at Mizusawa and placed in the vicinity of the VERA antenna in order to monitor vertical displacement at the end of 2008, and the observations continued throughout the year. Also at the VERA-Ishigakijima station, continuous operation of the SG started in 2012. The crustal movements generated by the 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku continued during 2012, and displacement of the VERA-Mizusawa position by post-seismic creeping continued.

Jike, Takaaki↗

Deriving Mercury Geodetic Parameters with Altimetric Crossovers from the Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA)

Based on the previous applications of laser altimetry to planetary geodesy at GSFC, we use the recently developed PyXover software package to analyze altimetric crossovers from the Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA). Using PyXover, we place new constraints on Mercury's geodetic parameters via least squares minimization of crossover discrepancies. We simultaneously solve for orbital corrections for each MLA ground track, for the geodetic parameters of the International Astronomical Union-recommended orientation model for Mercury (pole right-ascension and declination coordinates, prime meridian rotation rate, and librations), and for the Mercury's Love number h2. We calibrate the formal errors of our solution based on closed-loop simulations and on the level of robustness against a priori values, data selection, and parametrization. Our solution of the Mercury's rotational parameters is consistent with published values. In particular, our new estimate for the orientation of the pole places Mercury in a Cassini state, with an obliquity ϵ = 2.031 ± 0.03 arcmin compatible with previous “surface” related measurements. Moreover, we provide a first data-based estimate of the Love number h_(2) = 1.55 ± 0.65. The latter is consistent with expectations from models of Mercury's interior, although its precision does not enable their refinement.

S. Bertone↗

Adjoint-Based Inversion of Geodetic Data for Sources of Deformation and Strain

An adjoint-based formulation leads to a particularly efficient approach for inverting geodetic measurements for the source of the deformation. Specifically, the quantities necessary to iteratively improve the fit to the observations can be computed with just three forward calculations, one to obtain the current residuals, another to solve the adjoint problem, and a third to compute the step length. An inversion algorithm utilizing the adjoint-based gradient is applied to a set of Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) data gathered between 2016 and 2018 over the Tulare Basin in California's Central Valley. Because the measured deformation is due to groundwater withdrawal, a penalty function is included in the inversion to avoid placing aquifer volume change in locations that are far from any documented wells. The solution of the inverse problem provides estimates of aquifer compaction that provide a match to the observed range changes while honoring the well data. The solution indicates an average aquifer volume loss of 2.17 km 3 /year over the two year period from January 2016 to January 2018, encompassing one drought year (2016) and one wet year (2017). Finally, this magnitude of lost volume is compatible with the 3.1 km 3 /year decrease in water volume for the entire Central Valley, estimated from GRACE satellite gravity data.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗