The European Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer Satellite Mission: Its impact on geophysics
| Type | Article | ||||||||
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| Date | 2003-07 | ||||||||
| Language | English | ||||||||
| Author(s) | Johannessen J, Balmino G, Le Provost C, Rummel R, Sabadini R, Sunkel H, Tscherning C, Visser P, Woodworth P, Hughes C, Le Grand Pascal, Sneeuw N, Perosanz F, Aguirre Fernandez M, Rebhan H, Drinkwater M | ||||||||
| Affiliation(s) | Nansen Environm & Remote Sensing Ctr, N-5059 Bergen, Norway. Univ Bergen, Inst Geophys, N-5007 Bergen, Norway. Ctr Natl Etud Spatiales, GRGS, F-31401 Toulouse, France. Lab Etud Geophys & Oceanog Spatiales, F-31400 Toulouse 4, France. Tech Univ Munich, Astron & Phys Geodet Inst, D-80333 Munich, Germany. Univ Milan, Dipartimento Sci Terra, I-20129 Milan, Italy. Graz Tech Univ, A-8010 Graz, Austria. Univ Copenhagen, Dept Geophys, DK-1168 Copenhagen, Denmark. Delft Univ Technol, Delta Inst Earth Oriented Space Res, NL-2629 HS Delft, Netherlands. Bidston Observ, Proudman Oceanog Lab, Prenton CH43 7RA, England. IFREMER, Dept Phys Oceanog, F-29280 Plouzane, France. Univ Calgary, Dept Geomat Engn, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada. European Space Agcy, ESTEC, NL-2201 AZ Noordwijk, Netherlands. |
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| Source | Surveys in Geophysics (0169-3298) (Kluwer), 2003-07 , Vol. 24 , N. 4 , P. 339-386 | ||||||||
| DOI | 10.1023/B:GEOP.0000004264.04667.5e | ||||||||
| WOS© Times Cited | 46 | ||||||||
| Keyword(s) | M1, M1, M1 | ||||||||
| Abstract | Current knowledge of the Earth's gravity field and its geoid, as derived from various observing techniques and sources, is incomplete. Within a reasonable time, substantial improvement will come by exploiting new approaches based on spaceborne gravity observation. Among these, the European Space Agency (ESA) Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) satellite mission concept has been conceived and designed taking into account multi-disciplinary research objectives in solid Earth physics, oceanography and geodesy. Based on the unique capability of a gravity gradiometer combined with satellite-to-satellite high-low tracking techniques, an accurate and detailed global model of the Earth's gravity field and its corresponding geoid will be recovered. The importance of this is demonstrated by a series of realistic simulation experiments. In particular, the quantitative impact of the new and accurate gravity field and geoid is examined in studies of tectonic composition and motion, Glaciological Isostatic Adjustment, ocean mesoscale variability, water mass transport, and unification of height systems. Improved knowledge in each of these fields will also ensure the accumulation of new understanding of past and present sea-level changes. | ||||||||
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