Regional gravity field recovery using the GOCE gravity gradient tensor and heterogeneous gravimetry and altimetry data

A regional approach using Poisson wavelets is applied for gravity field recovery using the GOCE (Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer) gravity gradient tensor, heterogeneous gravimetry data, and altimetry measurements. The added value to the regional model introduced by GOCE data is validated and quantified. The performances of the solutions modeled with different diagonal components of GOCE data and their combinations are investigated. Numerical experiments in a region in Europe show that the effects introduced by GOCE data demonstrate long-wavelength patterns on the centimeter scale in terms of quasi-geoid heights, which may allow reducing the remaining long-wavelength errors in ground-based data, and improve the regional model. The accuracy of the gravimetric quasi-geoid computed with a combination of three diagonal components is improved by 0.6cm (0.5cm) in the Netherlands (Belgium) compared to that derived from gravimetry and altimetry data alone, when GOCO05s is used as the reference model. Moreover, the added value from GOCE data reduces the mean values of the misfit between the gravimetric solution and GPS/leveling data. Performances of different components and their combinations are not identical, and the solution with vertical gradients is best when a single component is used. The incorporation of multiple components shows further improvements, and the combination of three components best fits the local GPS/leveling data. Further comparison shows that our solution is the highest quality and may be substituted for existing models for engineering purposes and geophysical investigations over the target area.