GRIM5-C1: Combination solution of the global gravity field to degree and order 120

Abstract

The new satellite Earth gravity field model GRIM5-S1 was recently prepared in a joint GFZ and GRGS effort. Based on this satellite solution and terrestrial and altimetric gravity anomalies from NMA, a combined model GRIM5-C1, with full variance-covariance matrix up to degree and order 120, was computed. Surface gravity and altimetric gravity data are corrected for several systematic effects, such as ellipsoidal corrections and aliasing. A weighting scheme for gravity anomalies, according to their given standard deviations was developed. From each data set full normal equations were set up and finally combined with the GRM5-S1 normals. To take into account good information from the satellite-only model a procedure was developed to identify such coefficients and appropriately weighed them in the final normal equation system. Internal error propagation and comparisons to external data sets show, that the GRJM5-C1 model represents the best state of long wavelength gravity field models.