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GeoidWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Geoid
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

ThegeoidistheshapethatthesurfaceoftheoceanswouldtakeundertheinfluenceofEarth'sgravitationandrotationalone,intheabsenceofother
influencessuchaswindsandtides.Thissurfaceisextendedthroughthecontinents(suchaswithverynarrowhypotheticalcanals).Allpointsonthe
geoidhavethesamegravitypotentialenergy(thesumofgravitationalpotentialenergyandcentrifugalpotentialenergy).Theforceofgravityacts
everywhereperpendiculartothegeoid,meaningthatplumblinespointperpendicularandwaterlevelsparalleltothegeoid.
Specifically,thegeoidistheequipotentialsurfacethatwouldcoincidewiththemeanoceansurfaceofEarthiftheoceansandatmospherewerein
equilibrium,atrestrelativetotherotatingEarth,[1]andextendedthroughthecontinents(suchaswithverynarrowcanals).AccordingtoGauss,who
firstdescribedit,itisthe"mathematicalfigureofEarth",asmoothbuthighlyirregularsurfacewhoseshaperesultsfromtheunevendistributionofmass
withinandonthesurfaceofEarth.ItdoesnotcorrespondtotheactualsurfaceofEarth'scrust,buttoasurfacewhichcanonlybeknownthrough
extensivegravitationalmeasurementsandcalculations.Despitebeinganimportantconceptforalmosttwohundredyearsinthehistoryofgeodesyand
geophysics,ithasonlybeendefinedtohighprecisionsinceadvancesinsatellitegeodesyinthelate20thcentury.Itisoftendescribedasthetrue
physicalfigureoftheEarth,[1]incontrasttotheidealizedgeometricalfigureofareferenceellipsoid.
Thesurfaceofthegeoidishigherthanthereferenceellipsoidwhereverthereisapositivegravityanomaly(massexcess)andlowerthanthereference
ellipsoidwhereverthereisanegativegravityanomaly(massdeficit).[2]

Contents
1 Description
2 Simplifiedexample
3 Sphericalharmonicsrepresentation
4 Precisegeoid
5 Causesforgeoidanomalies
6 Timevariability
7 Celestialbodies
8 Seealso
9 References
10 Externallinks

Description
Thegeoidsurfaceisirregular,unlikethereferenceellipsoidwhichisamathematicalidealizedrepresentationof
thephysicalEarth,butconsiderablysmootherthanEarth'sphysicalsurface.AlthoughthephysicalEarthhas
excursionsof+8,848m(MountEverest)and429m(DeadSea),thegeoid'svariationrangesfrom106to
+85m,lessthan200mtotal[4]comparedtoaperfectmathematicalellipsoid.
Iftheoceansurfacewereisopycnic(ofconstantdensity)andundisturbedbytides,currents,orweather,itwould
closelyapproximatethegeoid.Thepermanentdeviationbetweenthegeoidandmeansealeveliscalledocean
surfacetopography.Ifthecontinentallandmasseswerecrisscrossedbyaseriesoftunnelsorcanals,thesea
levelinthesecanalswouldalsoverynearlycoincidewiththegeoid.Inrealitythegeoiddoesnothaveaphysical
meaningunderthecontinents,butgeodesistsareabletoderivetheheightsofcontinentalpointsabovethis
imaginary,yetphysicallydefined,surfacebyatechniquecalledspiritleveling.
Beinganequipotentialsurface,thegeoidisbydefinitionasurfacetowhichtheforceofgravityiseverywhere
perpendicular.Thismeansthatwhentravellingbyship,onedoesnotnoticetheundulationsofthegeoidthe
localvertical(plumbline)isalwaysperpendiculartothegeoidandthelocalhorizontangentialtoit.Likewise,
spiritlevelswillalwaysbeparalleltothegeoid.
NotethataGPSreceiveronashipmay,duringthecourseofalongvoyage,indicateheightvariations,even
thoughtheshipwillalwaysbeatsealevel(tidesnotconsidered).ThisisbecauseGPSsatellites,orbitingabout
thecenterofgravityoftheEarth,canonlymeasureheightsrelativetoageocentricreferenceellipsoid.Toobtain
one'sgeoidalheight,arawGPSreadingmustbecorrected.Conversely,heightdeterminedbyspiritlevelingfrom
atidalmeasurementstation,asintraditionallandsurveying,willalwaysbegeoidalheight.ModernGPS
receivershaveagridimplementedinsidewheretheyobtainthegeoid(e.g.EGM96)heightovertheWorld
GeodeticSystem(WGS)ellipsoidfromthecurrentposition.ThentheyareabletocorrecttheheightaboveWGS
ellipsoidtotheheightaboveWGS84geoid.Inthatcasewhentheheightisnotzeroonashipitisduetovarious
otherfactorssuchasoceantides,atmosphericpressure(meteorologicaleffects)andlocalseasurfacetopography.

Mapoftheundulationofthegeoid,
inmeters(basedontheEGM96
gravitymodelandtheWGS84
referenceellipsoid). [3]

1.Ocean
2.Referenceellipsoid
3.Localplumbline
4.Continent
5.Geoid

Simplifiedexample
Thegravitationalfieldoftheearthisneitherperfectnoruniform.Aflattenedellipsoidistypicallyusedastheidealizedearth,buteveniftheearthwere
perfectlyspherical,thestrengthofgravitywouldnotbethesameeverywhere,becausedensity(andthereforemass)variesthroughouttheplanet.Thisis
duetomagmadistributions,mountainranges,deepseatrenches,andsoon.
Ifthatperfectspherewerethencoveredinwater,thewaterwouldnotbethesameheighteverywhere.Instead,thewaterlevelwouldbehigherorlower
dependingontheparticularstrengthofgravityinthatlocation.

Sphericalharmonicsrepresentation
Sphericalharmonicsareoftenusedtoapproximatetheshapeofthegeoid.ThecurrentbestsuchsetofsphericalharmoniccoefficientsisEGM96(Earth
GravityModel1996),[5]determinedinaninternationalcollaborativeprojectledbyNIMA.Themathematicaldescriptionofthenonrotatingpartofthe
potentialfunctioninthismodelis:[6]
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where and aregeocentric(spherical)latitudeandlongituderespectively,

arethefullynormalized

associatedLegendrepolynomialsofdegree andorder ,and

and
arethenumericalcoefficientsof
themodelbasedonmeasureddata.NotethattheaboveequationdescribestheEarth'sgravitationalpotential ,
notthegeoiditself,atlocation
thecoordinate beingthegeocentricradius,i.e.,distancefromthe
Earth'scentre.Thegeoidisaparticular[6]equipotentialsurface,andissomewhatinvolvedtocompute.The
gradientofthispotentialalsoprovidesamodelofthegravitationalacceleration.EGM96containsafullsetof
coefficientstodegreeandorder360(i.e.
),describingdetailsintheglobalgeoidassmallas55km
(or110km,dependingonyourdefinitionofresolution).Thenumberofcoefficients,
and
,canbe
determinedbyfirstobservingintheequationforVthatforaspecificvalueofntherearetwocoefficientsfor
everyvalueofmexceptform=0.Thereisonlyonecoefficientwhenm=0since
.Therearethus
(2n+1)coefficientsforeveryvalueofn.Usingthesefactsandtheformula,

Threedimensionalvisualizationof
geoidundulations,usingunitsof
gravity.

,itfollowsthat

thetotalnumberofcoefficientsisgivenby
usingtheEGM96valueof

Formanyapplicationsthecompleteseriesisunnecessarilycomplexandistruncatedafterafew(perhapsseveraldozen)terms.
Newevenhigherresolutionmodelsarecurrentlyunderdevelopment.Forexample,manyoftheauthorsofEGM96areworkingonanupdatedmodel[7]
thatshouldincorporatemuchofthenewsatellitegravitydata(see,e.g.,GRACE),andshouldsupportuptodegreeandorder2160(1/6ofadegree,
requiringover4millioncoefficients).
NGAhasannouncedtheavailabilityofEGM2008,completetosphericalharmonicdegreeandorder2159,andcontainsadditionalcoefficients
extendingtodegree2190andorder2159.[8]SoftwareanddataisontheEarthGravitationalModel2008(EGM2008)WGS84Version]page.[8]

Precisegeoid
The1990ssawimportantdiscoveriesinthetheoryofgeoidcomputation.ThePreciseGeoidSolutionbyVanekandcoworkersimprovedonthe
Stokesianapproachtogeoidcomputation.[9]Theirsolutionenablesmillimetretocentimetreaccuracyingeoidcomputation,anorderofmagnitude
improvementfrompreviousclassicalsolutions.[10][11][12]

Causesforgeoidanomalies
VariationsintheheightofthegeoidalsurfacearerelatedtodensityanomalousdistributionswithintheEarth.
Geoidmeasureshelpthustounderstandtheinternalstructureoftheplanet.Syntheticcalculationsshowthatthe
geoidalsignatureofathickenedcrust(forexample,inorogenicbeltsproducedbycontinentalcollision)is
positive,oppositetowhatshouldbeexpectedifthethickeningaffectstheentirelithosphere.

Timevariability
GravityandGeoidanomaliescaused

Recentsatellitemissions,suchasGOCEandGRACE,haveenabledthestudyoftimevariablegeoidsignals.
byvariouscrustalandlithospheric
ThefirstproductsbasedonGOCEsatellitedatabecameavailableonlineinJune2010,throughtheEuropean
thicknesschangesrelativetoa
[13][14]
SpaceAgency(ESA)sEarthobservationuserservicestools.
ESAlaunchedthesatelliteinMarch2009on
referenceconfiguration.Allsettings
amissiontomapEarth'sgravitywithunprecedentedaccuracyandspatialresolution.On31March2011,thenew
areunderlocalisostatic
geoidmodelwasunveiledattheFourthInternationalGOCEUserWorkshophostedattheTechnischeUniversitt
compensation.
[15]
MncheninMunich,Germany. StudiesusingthetimevariablegeoidcomputedfromGRACEdatahave
providedinformationonglobalhydrologiccycles,[16]massbalancesoficesheets,[17]andpostglacialrebound.[18]Frompostglacialrebound
measurements,timevariableGRACEdatacanbeusedtodeducetheviscosityofEarth'smantle.[19]

Celestialbodies
Theconceptofthegeoidhasbeenextendedtootherplanetsandalsomoons,[20]aswellasasteroids.

Seealso
Geodeticdatum
Geodesy
Physicalgeodesy
InternationalTerrestrialReferenceFrame

References
1.http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/GG/FACULTY/conrad/classes/GG612_S11/Lecture_03.pdf
2.Fowler,C.M.R.(2005).TheSolidEarthAnIntroductiontoGlobalGeophysics.UnitedKingdom:CambridgeUniversityPress.p.214.ISBN9780521584098.
3."NGA:(U)WGS84,N=M=180EarthGravitationalModel(UNCLASSIFIED)".nga.mil.
4."GRACEGravityRecoveryandClimateExperiment".utexas.edu.
5."NGA:DoDWorldGeodeticSystem1984".nga.mil.
6."Thereisnosuchthingas"The"EGM96geoid:Subtlepointsontheuseofaglobalgeopotentialmodel.".noaa.gov.
7.Pavlis,N.K.,S.A.Holmes.S.Kenyon,D.Schmit,R.Trimmer,"Gravitationalpotentialexpansiontodegree2160",IAGInternationalSymposium,gravity,geoid
andSpaceMissionGGSM2004,Porto,Portugal,2004.
8."EarthGravitationalModel2008(EGM2008)".nga.mil.
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9."UNBPreciseGeoidDeterminationPackage".Archivedfromtheoriginalon20November2007.Retrieved2October2007.
10.Vanek,P.Kleusberg,A.(1987)."TheCanadiangeoidStokesianapproach".ManuscriptaGeodaetica12(2):8698.
11.Vanek,P.Martinec,Z.(1994)."Compilationofapreciseregionalgeoid"(PDF).ManuscriptaGeodaetica19:119128.
12.Vaneketal.Compilationofapreciseregionalgeoid(http://gge.unb.ca/Personnel/Vanicek/GeoidReport950327.pdf)(pdf),pp.45,ReportforGeodeticSurvey
DivisionDSSContract:#2324414405/01SS,Ottawa(1995)
13.esa."ESAmakesfirstGOCEdatasetavailable".EuropeanSpaceAgency.
14.esa."GOCEgivingnewinsightsintoEarthsgravity".EuropeanSpaceAgency.
15.esa."Earth'sgravityrevealedinunprecedenteddetail".EuropeanSpaceAgency.
16.Schmidt,RSchwintzer,PFlechtner,FReigber,CGuntner,ADoll,PRamillien,GCazenave,Aetal.(2006)."GRACEobservationsofchangesin
continentalwaterstorage".GlobalandPlanetaryChange50:112.Bibcode:2006GPC....50..112S.doi:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2004.11.018.
17.Ramillien,GLombard,ACazenave,AIvins,ELlubes,MRemy,FBiancale,R(2006)."InterannualvariationsofthemassbalanceoftheAntarcticaand
GreenlandicesheetsfromGRACE".GlobalandPlanetaryChange53(3):198.Bibcode:2006GPC....53..198R.doi:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2006.06.003.
18.Vanderwal,WWu,PSideris,MShum,C(2008)."UseofGRACEdeterminedseculargravityratesforglacialisostaticadjustmentstudiesinNorthAmerica".
JournalofGeodynamics46(35):144.Bibcode:2008JGeo...46..144V.doi:10.1016/j.jog.2008.03.007.
19.Paulson,ArchieZhong,ShijieWahr,John(2007)."InferenceofmantleviscosityfromGRACEandrelativesealeveldata".GeophysicalJournalInternational
171(2):497.Bibcode:2007GeoJI.171..497P.doi:10.1111/j.1365246X.2007.03556.x.
20.Wieczorek,M.A.(2007)."GravityandTopographyoftheTerrestrialPlanets".TreatiseonGeophysics.p.165.doi:10.1016/B9780444527486.001565.
ISBN9780444527486.

Externallinks
MainNGA(wasNIMA)pageonEarthgravitymodels(http://earthinfo.nga.mil/GandG/wgs84/index.html)
InternationalGeoidService(IGeS)(http://www.iges.polimi.it)
EGM96NASAGSFCEarthgravitymodel(http://cddis.gsfc.nasa.gov/926/egm96/egm96.html)
EarthGravitationalModel2008(EGM2008,ReleasedinJuly2008)(http://earthinfo.nga.mil/GandG/wgs84/gravitymod/egm2008/index.html)
NOAAGeoidwebpage(http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/GEOID/)
GeographicLib(http://geographiclib.sourceforge.net)providesautilityGeoidEval(withsourcecode)toevaluatethegeoidheightfortheEGM84,
EGM96,andEGM2008earthgravitymodels.HereisanonlineversionofGeoidEval(http://geographiclib.sourceforge.net/cgibin/GeoidEval).
Kiamehr'sGeoidHomePage(http://www.kiamehr.ir/geoid.htm)
Afreewindowscalculatorwhichyields,amongothercalculation,theheightdifferencebetweenEGM96geoidandmeansealevelateverypoint
onearth(https://sites.google.com/site/maltapplication/home)
GeoidtutorialfromLiandGotze(http://www.fugrogravmag.com/resources/Technical%20Papers/Li_Goetze_Geophysics_2001.pdf)(964KBpdf
file)
GeoidtutorialatGRACEwebsite(http://www.csr.utexas.edu/grace/gravity/gravity_definition.html)
PreciseGeoidDeterminationBasedontheLeastSquaresModificationofStokesFormula(http://www.infra.kth.se/geo/geollab.htm)(PhDThesis
PDF)
ViewEGM2008,EGM96andEGM84onGoogleMaps(http://www.surveying.org/home.htm)
H.Moritz(2011)."Acontemporaryperspectiveofgeoidstructure".JournalofGeodeticScience(Versita)1(March):8287.
Bibcode:2011JGeoS...1...82M.doi:10.2478/v1015601000107.
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