Encyclopedia of Solid Earth Geophysics


Book Description

The past few decades have witnessed the growth of the Earth Sciences in the pursuit of knowledge and understanding of the planet that we live on. This development addresses the challenging endeavor to enrich human lives with the bounties of Nature as well as to preserve the planet for the generations to come. Solid Earth Geophysics aspires to define and quantify the internal structure and processes of the Earth in terms of the principles of physics and forms the intrinsic framework, which other allied disciplines utilize for more specific investigations. The first edition of the Encyclopedia of Solid Earth Geophysics was published in 1989 by Van Nostrand Reinhold publishing company. More than two decades later, this new volume, edited by Prof. Harsh K. Gupta, represents a thoroughly revised and expanded reference work. It brings together more than 200 articles covering established and new concepts of Geophysics across the various sub-disciplines such as Gravity, Geodesy, Geomagnetism, Seismology, Seismics, Deep Earth Processes, Plate Tectonics, Thermal Domains, Computational Methods, etc. in a systematic and consistent format and standard. It is an authoritative and current reference source with extraordinary width of scope. It draws its unique strength from the expert contributions of editors and authors across the globe. It is designed to serve as a valuable and cherished source of information for current and future generations of professionals.




The Gravity Field of the Earth


Book Description

International Geophysics Series, Volume 10: The Gravity Field of the Earth: From Classical and Modern Methods explores the theory of the gravity field of the earth based on both classical and modern methods. Classical method involves observations of gravity taken over the earth's surface, while the modern method uses observations of variation of orbital elements of artificial satellites caused by the gravity field of the earth. This book is organized into two parts encompassing 12 chapters. Part I describes the solution of physical problems that are treated as Dirichlet problems or solved by means of integral equations. This part also deals with the determination of the geoid form from ground gravity measurements using the Stokes formula. The method of obtaining the Stokes formula by means of an integral equation is also outlined. Part II contains modern mathematical techniques developed to utilize the observations of artificial satellites for geodetic purposes. This book could be used as a textbook for students in the fields of geodesy, geophysics, or astronomy.




Geophysics


Book Description

1. What is geophysics? -- 2. Planet Earth -- 3. Seismology and the Earth's internal structure -- 4. Siesmicity--the restless Earth -- 5. Gravity and the figure of the Earth -- 6. The Earth's heat -- 7. The Earth's magnetic field -- 8. Afterthoughts




The Hunt for Earth Gravity


Book Description

The author of this history of mankind’s increasingly successful attempts to understand, to measure and to map the Earth’s gravity field (commonly known as ‘little g’ or just ‘g’) has been following in the footsteps of the pioneers, intermittently and with a variety of objectives, for more than fifty years. It is a story that begins with Galileo’s early experiments with pendulums and falling bodies, progresses through the conflicts between Hooke and Newton and culminates in the measurements that are now being made from aircraft and satellites. The spectacular increases in accuracy that have been achieved during this period provide the context, but the main focus is on the people, many of whom were notable eccentrics. Also covered are the reasons WHY these people thought their measurements would be useful, with emphasis in the later chapters on the place of ‘g’ in today’s applied geology, and on the ways in which it is providing new and spectacular visions of our planet. It is also, in part, a personal memoir that explores the parallels between the way fieldwork is being done now and the difficulties that accompanied its execution in the past. Selected topics in the mathematics of ‘g’ are discussed in a series of short Codas.




Gravity Field and Dynamics of the Earth


Book Description

Since the Czech edition was published four years ago, the authors have revised the original text tobring it up to date. During these four years, thanks to satellite altimetry the accuracy of the global descrip tion of the gravity field (model GEM-T2), of the fundamental astro geodetic constants, of the principal moments of inertia of the Earth and, in particular, of their differences, of the precession constant, and of a number of other dynamical parameters of the Earth have been improved. The authors have included most of these improvements in the revised English edition. They have, of course, also made factual, formal and other corrections and have modified some of the figures. Additions to the index and references have also been made. Praha, Czech Republic M. BuRSA and K. PF:c August 1993 Contents Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fundamentals of Determining the Parameters 1 Defining the Earth's Gravitational Field by Satellite Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 1. 1 Satellite Equations of Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 1. 2 Perturbing Function and Perturbing Potential . . . . 23 1. 3 General Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 1. 3. 1 Perturbing Gravitational Potential of the Earth in 1. 3. 2 Outer Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Perturbations due to the Moon and the Sun . . . . . . 27 1. 3. 3 Solution of the Perturbed Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 1. 4 1. 5 Transformation of the Perturbing Gravitational Potential into the Function of the Satellite's Orbital Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 1. 5. 1 Transformation of Potential Rs$ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 1. 5. 2 Transformation of Potentials L1 Vs»' L1 Vso . . . . . . . .




Methods and Technologies for Measuring the Earth’s Gravity Field Parameters


Book Description

This book offers extensive information on the operation of gravimeters, including airborne, marine and terrestrial ones, and on the associated data processing methods such as optimal and adaptive filtering, smoothing, structural and parametric identification. Further, it describes specific features relating to the study of the gravitational field in remote areas of the Earth, with the necessary modifications of equipment and software for all-latitude applications. Findings from gravity studies in such remote areas are also presented. Advanced methods for studying the gravitational field, including those for simultaneous determination of gravity anomalies and deflection of the vertical are described and analyzed in detail. Gravity gradiometers and cold atom gravimeters are also covered. Last but not least, the book deals with the development of Earth’s gravity field models and their various applications, including map-aided navigation, with a special attention to model accuracy estimation. Gathering research findings and best practice recommendations relating to Earth’s gravity field measurements, collected by a team of researchers and professionals, the book offers a unique guide for engineers, scientists and graduate students dealing with terrestrial, marine and airborne gravimetry. It will also help other specialists involved in developing and using navigation systems in practice, including designers of gravimetric equipment and navigators.







Development of finite element models for the earth's gravity field


Book Description

As alternatives to lengthy globally valid series representations of the geopotential, piecewise modeling for the gravity field is investigated. A degree 23 spherical harmonic representation is replaced by 1500 local gravity functions within the spherical shell from 1 to 1.2 earth radii. Worst case acceleration errors enter in the 7th significant digit, computational speed is improved by an order of magnitude. (Author).