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On the Accuracy of the Calibration of Superconducting Gravimeters Using Absolute and Spring Sensors: a Critical Comparison

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Abstract

Over the past two decades, superconducting gravimeters (SGs) have been a key tool to investigate a number of geophysical processes leading to time-variable gravity changes. As SGs are relative meters, even though they are the most sensitive and stable devices currently available, they need to be accurately calibrated. Each branch of Earth sciences that benefits from high-precision gravity monitoring demands calibration of gravity sensors to accuracy of better than 0.1%. This research deals with a calibration experiment performed at the Strasbourg (France) SG site by means of two FG5 (#206 and #211) absolute gravimeters (AGs) and new-generation spring meters (Scintrex Ltd. Autograv CG-3M and CG5 and Microg-LaCoste gPhone). Our goal is to try to use the newest generation of spring mechanical gravimeters (MGs) for calibrating SGs. We discuss the results in terms of precision and accuracy of the SG calibration by means of different metrological and methodological approaches. With the FG5 #211 we derive scale factors for the SG-GWR C026 located in Strasbourg in agreement with those routinely obtained since 1997 by means of the FG5 #206. This confirms that the estimation of the scale factors is independent of the AG sensor. From a moving-window regression analysis between the synthetic body tides and both the SG and MG gravity records we detect significant fluctuations of the SG scale factors over time due to the instability of the instrumental sensitivity of the MGs. Our main results demonstrate that, owing to the time variability of their sensitivity, the used spring meters, even if well calibrated, cannot be used as a stable reference for SGs. As a result, MGs are not suitable to replace AGs for SG calibration, and we conclude that currently the method using parallel recording with absolute gravity meters is still the most feasible calibration approach for SGs.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the IGN of Madrid for providing the gPhone 054 and the FG5 #211 for this study and Mr S. Sainz-Maza Aparicio and Mr. P.A. Vaquero-Fernandez for their support in the installation of the meter. The authors are grateful to Walter Zürn and an anonymous referee for their valuable comments that significantly improved this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut de Physique du Globe de Strasbourg, IPGS - UMR 7516, CNRS et Université de Strasbourg (EOST) , 5 rue René Descartes, 67084, Strasbourg, Cedex, France

    Umberto Riccardi, Severine Rosat & Jacques Hinderer

  2. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università “Federico II” di Napoli, L.go S. Marcellino 10, 80138, Naples, Italy

    Umberto Riccardi

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  1. Umberto Riccardi
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  2. Severine Rosat
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Correspondence to Umberto Riccardi.

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Riccardi, U., Rosat, S. & Hinderer, J. On the Accuracy of the Calibration of Superconducting Gravimeters Using Absolute and Spring Sensors: a Critical Comparison. Pure Appl. Geophys. 169, 1343–1356 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-011-0398-8

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