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Absolute Gravity Measurements

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Encyclopedia of Geodesy

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

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Definition

Absolute gravimetry: Measurement of absolute value of free-fall acceleration in gravity field

Introduction

Gravimetry in a broad sense includes science and practice of the measurement of those physical quantities, which are manifestations of a gravity field. On a large scale, gravimetry includes the measurement of the gravity field of the Earth (or other planets) and, on a small scale, the measurement of the local gravity field in the laboratory and in the field. Gravimetry also includes studies of the methods and instruments for gravity measurement.

In a rotating coordinate system on the Earth, the free-fall acceleration g of the object is composed of the part ga due to gravitational attraction and of the centrifugal acceleration gc (see, e.g., Torge 1998a)

$$ g=g\textrm{a}+g\textrm{c}. $$
(1)

The ga and gc are the first derivatives with respect to coordinate z of the gravitational potential V and centrifugal potential Vc, respectively, in the local coordinate system,...

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Abbreviations

ABG:

Absolute ballistic gravimeter

BIPM:

International bureau of weight and measures (Bureau international des poids et mesures)

FFA:

Free fall acceleration

IAG:

International association of geodesy

ICAG:

International comparison of absolute gravimeters

KCRV:

Key comparison reference value

NMI:

National metrology institute

SI:

International system of units (Système international d’unités)

VIM:

International Vocabulary of Metrology (Vocabulaire international de métrologie)

References and Reading

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. D.I.Mendeleyev Institute for Metrology (VNIIM), Saint-Petersburg, Russia

    Leonid F. Vitushkin

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  1. Leonid F. Vitushkin
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Correspondence to Leonid F. Vitushkin .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geomatics Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada

    Michael G. Sideris

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Vitushkin, L.F. (2023). Absolute Gravity Measurements. In: Sideris, M.G. (eds) Encyclopedia of Geodesy. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02370-0_25-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02370-0_25-2

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Absolute Gravity Measurements
    Published:
    28 March 2023

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02370-0_25-2

  2. Original

    Absolute Gravity Measurements
    Published:
    14 May 2015

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02370-0_25-1

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