Learning Outcomes
After this module the students are familiar with the most important observation methods in space geodesy and how the data is analysed.
They know the strengths and weaknesses of the individual techniques, how they contribute to measure the three pillars of geodesy (Earth
shape, Earth rotation and Earth gravity field) and what type of phenomena and processes in the Earth system they can observe and
monitor. They understand that only the integrated analysis of a variety of complementary sensors allows the separation of different
processes of global change in the Earth system.
Content
Measurement principles of the most important space- and ground-based geodetic observation techniques:
- Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI)
- Satellite and Lunar Laser Ranging (SLR/LLR)
- Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS, including GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO,)
- Doppler Orbitography and Radio positioning Integrated by Satellite (DORIS)-
- Ocean and ice altimetry
- InSAR and gravity field satellite missions and innovative future concepts.
The application of these techniques to determine the three pillars of space geodesy:
- The Earth’s geometry and deformation
- The Earth orientation and rotation
- The Earth gravity field and its temporal variations
Further topics:
- Methods to solve huge parameter estimation problems and for time series analyses are explained and applied
- Estimation/monitoring of station motion and surface deformationd
- Models of the processes deforming the Earth‘s surface like plate tectonics, post-glacial rebound, solid Earth tides, surface loads
- Importance of deformation measurements for natural hazards and early warning systems
- Methods to determine the global gravity field of the Earth and its temporal variability including satellite to satellite tracking, satellite gravity
gradiometry (SGG) and altimetry
- Orbit determination methods
- Static gravity field as reference surface and information about the structures and processes in the Earth‘s interior
- Geodetic and geophysical models of the Earth orientation and rotation including effects of Sun, Moon and planets, and of the different
components of the Earth system
- Comparisons with observed Earth orientation parameters series
- GNSS remote sensing comprising atmospheric sounding from ground and space, determination of water vapor in the troposphere and the
electron density in the ionosphere
- GNSS reflectometry and scatterometry
- Importance for meteorology, weather forecasts and climatology
