Satellite gravity and the geosphere : contributions to the study of the solid earth and its fluid envelope / Committee on Earth Gravity from Space ... [et al.].

Format:

Book

Contributor:

National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Earth Gravity from Space.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Satellite geodesy.

Gravity--Measurement.

Gravity.

Physical geography.

Geodynamics.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (126 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Washington, D.C. : National Academy Press, 1997.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

For the past three decades, it has been possible to measure the earth's static gravity from satellites. Such measurements have been used to address many important scientific problems, including the earth's internal structure, and geologically slow processes like mantle convection. In principle, it is possible to resolve the time-varying component of the gravity field by improving the accuracy of satellite gravity measurements. These temporal variations are caused by dynamic processes that change the mass distribution in the earth, oceans, and atmosphere. Acquisition of improved time-varying gravity data would open a new class of important scientific problems to analysis, including crustal motions associated with earthquakes and changes in groundwater levels, ice dynamics, sea-level changes, and atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns. This book evaluates the potential for using satellite technologies to measure the time-varying component of the gravity field and assess the utility of these data for addressing problems of interest to the earth sciences, natural hazards, and resource communities.

Contents:

SATELLITE GRAVITY AND THE GEOSPHERE

Copyright

Preface

Contents

Satellite Gravity and the Geosphere

Executive Summary

BENEFITS OF A DEDICATED SATELLITE GRAVITY MISSION

MISSION SCENARIOS AND MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES

OCEAN DYNAMICS AND HEAT FLUX

SOLID EARTH PROCESSES

WATER CYCLING

SEA-LEVEL RISE AND GLACIOLOGY

THE DYNAMIC ATMOSPHERE

A TOOL FOR SCIENCE

1 Introduction

SCIENTIFIC OVERVIEW

THE ATMOSPHERE AS A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF NOISE FOR TIME-DEPENDENT APPLICATIONS

HISTORY OF SATELLITE GRAVITY

GRAVITY" AS USED IN THIS REPORT

ORGANIZATION OF REPORT

2 Mission Scenarios and Measurement Techniques

SATELLITE OBSERVATIONS OF THE GRAVITY FIELD

TRADE-OFFS IN SPACECRAFT MISSION DESIGN

MISSION SCENARIOS

GPS

SST and SSI

SGG and SGGE

PREVIOUS STUDIES

ERROR ESTIMATES FOR MISSION SCENARIOS OF THIS REPORT

Degree Amplitude Error Spectra

Precision Versus Resolution

STANDARD GENERIC MISSIONS

CONCLUSIONS

3 The Gravity Field as a Tool For Science

REFERENCE FRAME (1): THE FOUNDATION FOR MEASURING THE CHANGING EARTH

REFERENCE FRAME (2): THE GEOID, FLUID CIRCULATION, AND SATELLITEALTIMETRY

DATA CALIBRATION AND VERIFICATION: GIVING OLD DATA NEW VALUE

4 Ocean Dynamics and Heat Flux

STATIC FIELD

TIME-DEPENDENT MEASUREMENTS

Bottom Pressure and Mass

Steric Changes

Accuracy

5 Solid Earth Processes

MANTLE CONVECTION AND PLUMES: UNDERSTANDING THE EARTH'S HEAT ENGINE

POST-GLACIAL REBOUND

REGIONAL DEFORMATION AND STRUCTURE: THE SURFACE MANIFESTATION OF PLATE TECTONICS

EARTHQUAKES

6 Water Cycling

WATER TRANSFER TO THE ATMOSPHERE

SOIL MOISTURE INVENTORY

GRAVITY AND THE GEWEX CONTINENTAL-SCALE INTERNATIONAL PROJECT

SNOWLOAD AND ASSOCIATED RUNOFF

AQUIFERS

CONCLUSIONS.

7 Sea-Level Change

THERMAL EXPANSION OF THE OCEANS

ICE MASS BALANCE

Contributions from the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets

Isostatic Rebound

Snow-Accumulation Rates

Atmospheric Pressure

Complementarity with Satellite Laser Altimetry

Drainage Systems Within Ice Sheets

Contributions from Glaciers

8 The Dynamic Atmosphere: Unraveling the Contributions of the Earth's Subsystems

9 Conclusions

Afterword

Appendix A Spherical Harmonics: Degree Variances, Wavelengths, Upward Continuation, Anomalous Potentials, Signal and Error…

A.1 SPHERICAL HARMONIC EXPANSIONS OF GRAVITATIONAL POTENTIALS

A.2 DEGREE VARIANCES

A.3 WAVELENGTH RELATED TO HARMONIC DEGREE

A.4 ATTENUATION WITH ALTITUDE

A.5 ANOMALOUS POTENTIALS AND "KAULA'S RULE

A.6 DEGREE AMPLITUDE SPECTRA

A.7 ERRORS IN OBSERVABLES RELATED TO ERRORS IN THE GRAVITY FIELD

A.8 ACCURACY VERSUS RESOLUTION IN GAUSSIAN-WEIGHTED AVERAGES OVER A SPHERICAL CAP

Appendix B Modeling

RATIONALE

CALCULATIONS

SPECIFIC APPLICATIONS

Acronyms

References.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. 107-112).

ISBN:

9786610210589

9780309174763

0309174767

9781280210587

1280210583

9780309538664

0309538661

9780585037103

0585037108

OCLC:

42330427