Abstract
Combining data from a Strapdown Inertial Navigation System and a Differential Global Positioning System (SINS/DGPS) has shown great promise in estimating gravity on moving platforms. Previous studies on a ground-vehicle system obtained 1–3 mGal precision with 2 km spatial resolution. High-accuracy Inertial Measurement Units (IMU) and cm-level positioning solutions are very important in obtaining mGal-level gravity disturbance estimates. However, these ideal configurations are not always available or achievable. Because the noise level in the SINS/DGPS gravimetric system generally decreases with an increase of speed and altitude of the platform, the stringent constraints on the IMU and GPS may be relieved in the airborne scenario. This paper presents an investigation of one navigation-grade and one tactical-grade IMU for the possibility of low-cost INS/GPS airborne gravimetry. We use the data collected during the Gravity-Lidar Study of 2006 (GLS06), which contains aerogravity, GPS, and INS along the northern coastline of the Gulf of Mexico. The gravity disturbance estimates from the navigation-grade IMU show 0.5–3.2 mGal precision compared with the onboard gravimeter’s measurements and better than 3 mGal precision compared with the upward continued surface control data. Due to relatively large (240 s) smoothing window, the results have about 34 km along-track resolution. But the gravity estimates from the tactical-grade IMU have much poorer precisions. Nonetheless, useful contributions from the tactical-grade IMU could be extracted for longer wavelengths.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Bruton A (2000) Improving the accuracy and resolution of SINS/DGPS airborne gravimetry. PhD thesis, Department of Geomatics Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, UCGE Report No. 20145
Hannah J (2001) Airborne gravimetry: a status report. Department of Surveying, University of Otago, Dunedin
Jekeli C (2000) Inertial navigation systems with geodetic applications. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin
Jekeli C, Li X (2006) INS/GPS vector gravimetry along roads in Western Montana. The Ohio State University Report No. 477
Kwon JH, Jekeli C (2001) A new approach for airborne vector gravimetry using GPS/INS. J Geod 74(10): 690–700
Li X, Jekeli C (2006) INS/GPS vector gravimetry assessment using repeated traverses in Montana. In: Proceedings of 1st international symposium of the international gravity field service, Istanbul, Turkey, pp 31–36
Li X (2007) Moving base INS/GPS vector gravimetry on a land vehicle. PhD dissertation, OSU report 486
Li X, Jekeli C (2008) Ground-Vehicle INS/GPS Gravimetry. Geophysics 73(2): I1–10
Li X (2009) Comparing the Kalman filter with a Monte Carlo-based artificial neural network in the INS/GPS vector gravimetric system. J Geod 83(9): 797–804
Li X (2010) Interpolating surface gravity data for assessing the accuracy of a ground INS/GPS gravimetric system. J Survey Eng 136(3):139–146. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)SU.1943-5428.0000025
Pavlis NK, Holmes SA, Kenyon SC, Factor JK (2008) An earth gravitational model to degree 2160: EGM2008. European Geosciences Union General Assembly, Vienna
Schwarz KP (2006) Simultaneous determination of position and gravity from INS/DGPS, Wissenschaftliche Arbeiten der Fachrichtung Geodaesie und Geoinformatik der Universitaet Hannover, Hannover, vol 258, pp 141–148
Smith DA, Roman DR (2001) GEOID99 and G99SSS: 1-arc-minute geoid models for the United States. J Geod 75(9–10): 469–490
Wang YM, Roman DR, Saleh J (2008) Analytical downward and upward continuation based on the method of domain decomposition and local functions. In: 6th Hotine-Marussi symposium on theoretical and computational geodesy, vol 132, Part IV, pp 356–360
Wei M, Schwarz KP (1998) Flight test results from a strapdown airborne gravity system. J Geod 72: 323–332
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Li, X. Strapdown INS/DGPS airborne gravimetry tests in the Gulf of Mexico. J Geod 85, 597–605 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00190-011-0462-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00190-011-0462-2