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Geoid undulation accuracyThe determination of the geoid and equipotential surface of the Earth's gravity field, has long been of interest to geodesists and oceanographers. The geoid provides a surface to which the actual ocean surface can be compared with the differences implying information on the circulation patterns of the oceans. For use in oceanographic applications the geoid is ideally needed to a high accuracy and to a high resolution. There are applications that require geoid undulation information to an accuracy of +/- 10 cm with a resolution of 50 km. We are far from this goal today but substantial improvement in geoid determination has been made. In 1979 the cumulative geoid undulation error to spherical harmonic degree 20 was +/- 1.4 m for the GEM10 potential coefficient model. Today the corresponding value has been reduced to +/- 25 cm for GEM-T3 or +/- 11 cm for the OSU91A model. Similar improvements are noted by harmonic degree (wave-length) and in resolution. Potential coefficient models now exist to degree 360 based on a combination of data types. This paper discusses the accuracy changes that have taken place in the past 12 years in the determination of geoid undulations.
Document ID
19930060289
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Rapp, Richard H.
(Ohio State Univ. Columbus, United States)
Date Acquired
August 16, 2013
Publication Date
March 1, 1993
Publication Information
Publication: IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing
Volume: 31
Issue: 2
ISSN: 0196-2892
Subject Category
Geophysics
Accession Number
93A44286
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: JPL-958121
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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