Unlocked Potentials in Airborne Gravimetry

Recent advancements in geodesy have highlighted the dynamic interplay between theory, science, engineering, technology, and practice-oriented services. The continuous evolution of geodetic science has led to significant progress in both traditional geodetic challenges and emerging issues, often driven by innovations in instrumentation and computational techniques. This paper explores the potential to enhance airborne gravimetry by incorporating data from typically discarded flight segments—such as takeoff, landing, and turning periods—referred to as "preparing time" or "junk periods." While these phases are often excluded due to complexities in modeling aircraft accelerations, this study demonstrates the value of including this data in local gravity field modeling. Through simulations of gravity disturbances and rigorous downward continuation methods, we achieve significant improvements in precision (57%, 17%, and 12%) for data in the bandwidth from spherical harmonic degrees 200 to 1080. Notably, further improvements (55%, 41%, and 30%) are observed when extending the bandwidth from spherical harmonic degrees 1080 to 2160. This research emphasizes the importance of utilizing the entire flight trajectory to improve airborne gravimetry efficiency. The findings have implications for the integration of advanced technologies, such as quantum gravimeters with sub-mGal accuracy, as well as the coupling of various gravimetric systems, including vector gravimetry, to solve complex geodetic problems.