Dataset Information

High-resolution local gravity model of the south pole of the Moon from GRAIL extended mission data.

ABSTRACT: We estimated a high-resolution local gravity field model over the south pole of the Moon using data from the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory's extended mission. Our solution consists of adjustments with respect to a global model expressed in spherical harmonics. The adjustments are expressed as gridded gravity anomalies with a resolution of 1/6° by 1/6° (equivalent to that of a degree and order 1080 model in spherical harmonics), covering a cap over the south pole with a radius of 40°. The gravity anomalies have been estimated from a short-arc analysis using only Ka-band range-rate (KBRR) data over the area of interest. We apply a neighbor-smoothing constraint to our solution. Our local model removes striping present in the global model; it reduces the misfit to the KBRR data and improves correlations with topography to higher degrees than current global models.

Key points

We present a high-resolution gravity model of the south pole of the Moon Improved correlations with topography to higher degrees than global models Improved fits to the data and reduced striping that is present in global models.

SUBMITTER: Goossens S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4459178 | biostudies-literature | 2014 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

High-resolution local gravity model of the south pole of the Moon from GRAIL extended mission data.

Goossens Sander S Sabaka Terence J TJ Nicholas Joseph B JB Lemoine Frank G FG Rowlands David D DD Mazarico Erwan E Neumann Gregory A GA Smith David E DE Zuber Maria T MT

Geophysical research letters 20140530 10

We estimated a high-resolution local gravity field model over the south pole of the Moon using data from the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory's extended mission. Our solution consists of adjustments with respect to a global model expressed in spherical harmonics. The adjustments are expressed as gridded gravity anomalies with a resolution of 1/6° by 1/6° (equivalent to that of a degree and order 1080 model in spherical harmonics), covering a cap over the south pole with a radius of 40°. ...[more]

PMID: 26074637

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Project description:ESA's Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) orbited the Earth between 2009 and 2013 for the determination of the static part of Earth's gravity field. The GPS-derived precise science orbits (PSOs) were operationally generated by the Astronomical Institute of the University of Bern (AIUB). Due to a significantly improved understanding of remaining artifacts after the end of the GOCE mission (especially in the GOCE gradiometry data), ESA initiated a reprocessing of the entire GOCE Level 1b data in 2018. In this framework, AIUB was commissioned to recompute the GOCE reduced-dynamic and kinematic PSOs. In this paper, we report on the employed precise orbit determination methods, with a focus on measures undertaken to mitigate ionosphere-induced artifacts in the kinematic orbits and thereof derived gravity field models. With respect to the PSOs computed during the operational phase of GOCE, the reprocessed PSOs show in average a 8-9% better consistency with GPS data, 31% smaller 3-dimensional reduced-dynamic orbit overlaps, an 8% better 3-dimensional consistency between reduced-dynamic and kinematic orbits, and a 3-7% reduction of satellite laser ranging residuals. In the second part of the paper, we present results from GPS-based gravity field determinations that highlight the strong benefit of the GOCE reprocessed kinematic PSOs. Due to the applied data weighting strategy, a substantially improved quality of gravity field coefficients between degree 10 and 40 is achieved, corresponding to a remarkable reduction of ionosphere-induced artifacts along the geomagnetic equator. For a static gravity field solution covering the entire mission period, geoid height differences with respect to a superior inter-satellite ranging solution are markedly reduced (43% in terms of global RMS, compared to previous GOCE GPS-based gravity fields). Furthermore, we demonstrate that the reprocessed GOCE PSOs allow to recover long-wavelength time-variable gravity field signals (up to degree 10), comparable to information derived from GPS data of dedicated satellite missions. To this end, it is essential to take into account the GOCE common-mode accelerometer data in the gravity field recovery.

Dataset Information

High-resolution local gravity model of the south pole of the Moon from GRAIL extended mission data.

Key points

Publications

High-resolution local gravity model of the south pole of the Moon from GRAIL extended mission data.

Similar Datasets

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