Satellite gravity validation by new airborne gravimetry in coastal regions of Antarctica and Norway

Airborne gravimetry provides gravity observations of higher spatial resolution than what can be obtained from satellite gravity field measurements, and together with terrestrial measurements they augment the satellite observations to determine high-resolution geoid models. Satellite altimetry in coastal and ice-covered regions is known to have significant errors. We use modern strapdown gravimetry for the surveys and compare the indirect method, using Kalman filtering, and the direct filtering method for the processing. We present the result of strapdown gravimetry for two airborne campaigns conducted in Antarctica 2022 and Norway 2023. During both campaigns the sensors used were an iMAR navigation-grade inertial measurement unit together with a geodetic GNSS receiver.

The 2022 campaign covered part of the sea-ice covered Weddell Sea and was surveyed as a piggyback activity as part of the ESA CRYO2ICE and NERC DEFIANT 2022 Antractica campaign. The 2023 airborne campaign was carried out in the coastal region of Norway near Trondheim. In both areas the data were compared to satellite altimetry and other gravity data from ship or airborne surveys. Both campaigns show improvements in spatial resolution and accuracy of the new mGal-level airborne gravimetry data when compared to satellite altimetry and older marine gravity observations.