The 8th International Comparison of Absolute Gravimeters 2009

The first Key Comparison (CCM.G-K1) in the field of absolute gravimetry

authored by
Z. Jiang, V. Pálinkáš, F. E. Arias, J. Liard, S. Merlet, H. Wilmes, L. Vitushkin, L. Robertsson, L. Tisserand, F. Pereira Dos Santos, Q. Bodart, R. Falk, H. Baumann, S. Mizushima, J. Mäkinen, M. Bilker-Koivula, C. Lee, I. M. Choi, B. Karaboce, W. Ji, Q. Wu, D. Ruess, C. Ullrich, J. Kostelecký, D. Schmerge, M. Eckl, L. Timmen, N. Le Moigne, R. Bayer, T. Olszak, J. Ågren, C. Del Negro, F. Greco, M. Diament, S. Deroussi, S. Bonvalot, J. Krynski, M. Sekowski, H. Hu, L. J. Wang, S. Svitlov, A. Germak, O. Francis, M. Becker, D. Inglis, I. Robinson
Abstract

The 8th International Comparison of Absolute Gravimeters (ICAG2009) took place at the headquarters of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) from September to October 2009. It was the first ICAG organized as a key comparison in the framework of the CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangement of the International Committee for Weights and Measures (CIPM MRA) (CIPM 1999). ICAG2009 was composed of a Key Comparison (KC) as defined by the CIPM MRA, organized by the Consultative Committee for Mass and Related Quantities (CCM) and designated as CCM.G-K1. Participating gravimeters and their operators came from national metrology institutes (NMIs) or their designated institutes (DIs) as defined by the CIPM MRA. A Pilot Study (PS) was run in parallel in order to include gravimeters and their operators from other institutes which, while not signatories of the CIPM MRA, nevertheless play important roles in international gravimetry measurements. The aim of the CIPM MRA is to have international acceptance of the measurement capabilities of the participating institutes in various fields of metrology. The results of CCM.G-K1 thus constitute an accurate and consistent gravity reference traceable to the SI (International System of Units), which can be used as the global basis for geodetic, geophysical and metrological observations of gravity. The measurements performed afterwards by the KC participants can be referred to the international metrological reference, i.e. they are SI-traceable. The ICAG2009 was complemented by a number of associated measurements: the Relative Gravity Campaign (RGC2009), high-precision levelling and an accurate gravity survey in support of the BIPM watt balance project. The major measurements took place at the BIPM between July and October 2009. Altogether 24 institutes with 22 absolute gravimeters (one of the 22 AGs was ultimately withdrawn) and nine relative gravimeters participated in the ICAG/RGC campaign. This paper is focused on the absolute gravity campaign. We review the history of the ICAGs and present the organization, data processing and the final results of the ICAG2009. After almost thirty years of hosting eight successive ICAGs, the CIPM decided to transfer the responsibility for piloting the future ICAGs to NMIs, although maintaining a supervisory role through its Consultative Committee for Mass and Related Quantities.

Organisation(s)
Institute of Geodesy
External Organisation(s)
International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM)
Research Institute of Geodesy, Topography and Cartography, Czech Republic
Natural Resources Canada (NRCan)
LNE-SYRTE - Observatoire de Paris
Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (BKG)
D. I. Mendeleev Institute for Metrology
Federal Office of Metrology (METAS)
National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
Finnish Geodetic Institute (FGI)
Industrial Technology Research Institute Hsinchu
Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science
TUBITAK
National Institute of Metrology China
Federal Office of Metrology and Surveying (BEV)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Géosciences Montpellier
Warsaw University of Technology
Lantmäteriet - The Swedish Mapping, Cadastral, and Land Registration Authority
Istituto Nazionale Di Geofisica E Vulcanologia, Rome
Université de Paris
Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS)
Institute of Geodesy and Cartography (IGiK)
Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light
Tsinghua University
Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica (INRiM)
University of Luxembourg
Technische Universität Darmstadt
National Research Council of Canada
National Physical Laboratory (NPL)
Type
Article
Journal
METROLOGIA
Volume
49
Pages
666-684
No. of pages
19
ISSN
0026-1394
Publication date
05.10.2012
Publication status
Published
Peer reviewed
Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas
Engineering(all)
Electronic version(s)
https://doi.org/10.1088/0026-1394/49/6/666 (Access: Closed)
 

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