Ellipsoidal corrections to order e ² of geopotential coefficients and Stokes’ formula

Abstract

 Assuming that the gravity anomaly and disturbing potential are given on a reference ellipsoid, the result of Sjöberg (1988, Bull Geod 62:93–101) is applied to derive the potential coefficients on the bounding sphere of the ellipsoid to order e ² (i.e. the square of the eccentricity of the ellipsoid). By adding the potential coefficients and continuing the potential downward to the reference ellipsoid, the spherical Stokes formula and its ellipsoidal correction are obtained. The correction is presented in terms of an integral over the unit sphere with the spherical approximation of geoidal height as the argument and only three well-known kernel functions, namely those of Stokes, Vening-Meinesz and the inverse Stokes, lending the correction to practical computations. Finally, the ellipsoidal correction is presented also in terms of spherical harmonic functions. The frequently applied and sometimes questioned approximation of the constant m, a convenient abbreviation in normal gravity field representations, by e ²/2, as introduced by Moritz, is also discussed. It is concluded that this approximation does not significantly affect the ellipsoidal corrections to potential coefficients and Stokes’ formula. However, whether this standard approach to correct the gravity anomaly agrees with the pure ellipsoidal solution to Stokes’ formula is still an open question.