An important component of geodesy is the determination of the Earth's external gravity field. Most geodetic measurements and the objectives they serve are tied inextricably to an accurate knowledge of this field. For example, determining the size and shape of the Earth traditionally requires the determination of the geoid, the equipotential surface coinciding with mean sea level. Increasingly, there are requirements to know gravity or its potential accurately not only at or near the Earth's surface but also at aircraft and satellite altitudes. All autonomous inertial navigation and guidance systems achieve their function only if their sensitive axes can be related to the local vertical; that is, the in situ direction of gravity must be known. As another example, the precise description of a satellite's orbit, its position and velocity, is based on an accurate model of the gravitational potential in space. One object of geodesy, then, is to determine the gravity field on and outside...
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© 1989 Van Nostrand Reinhold
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Jekeli, C. (1989). Earth's external gravity field . In: Geophysics. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30752-4_13
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30752-4_13
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