A theory on geoid modelling by spectral combination of data from satellite gravity gradiometry, terrestrial gravity and an Earth Gravitational Model

In precise geoid modelling the combination of terrestrial gravity data and an Earth Gravitational Model (EGM) is standard. The proper combination of these data sets is of great importance, and spectral combination is one alternative utilized here. In this method data from satellite gravity gradiometry (SGG), terrestrial gravity and an EGM are combined in a least squares sense by minimizing the expected global mean square error. The spectral filtering process also allows the SGG data to be downward continued to the Earth’s surface without solving a system of equations, which is likely to be ill-conditioned. Each practical formula is presented as a combination of one or two integral formulas and the harmonic series of the EGM.Numerical studies show that the kernels of the integral part of the geoid and gravity anomaly estimators approach zero at a spherical distance of about 5°. Also shown (by the expected root mean square errors) is the necessity to combine EGM08 with local data, such as terrestrial gravimetric data, and/or SGG data to attain the 1-cm accuracy in local geoid determination