Active Ice-Shelf Rift Systems on the Amery Ice Shelf, East Antarctica. Our work will inform the public on how the Antarctic might contribute to global sea level rise, e.g., are current iceberg production rates accelerating and causing inland ice to flow into the sea more rapidly? Furthermore, a greater understanding of the important Earth systems, including the ocean-ice-atmosphere system, is important to a society contemplating the responsibilities of stewardship of the planet as we move into t ....Active Ice-Shelf Rift Systems on the Amery Ice Shelf, East Antarctica. Our work will inform the public on how the Antarctic might contribute to global sea level rise, e.g., are current iceberg production rates accelerating and causing inland ice to flow into the sea more rapidly? Furthermore, a greater understanding of the important Earth systems, including the ocean-ice-atmosphere system, is important to a society contemplating the responsibilities of stewardship of the planet as we move into the era of potentially profound effects from global climate change.Read moreRead less
Looking back to see the future: Change in the Lambert Glacier and the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. To develop a comprehensive understanding of the Lambert Glacier of East Antarctica, from the time of the last maximum glaciation to the present, through an integrated and interdisciplinary study combining new field evidence - ice retreat history, geodetic measurements of crustal rebound, satellite measurements of present ice heights and changes therein - with other geological and glaciological data an ....Looking back to see the future: Change in the Lambert Glacier and the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. To develop a comprehensive understanding of the Lambert Glacier of East Antarctica, from the time of the last maximum glaciation to the present, through an integrated and interdisciplinary study combining new field evidence - ice retreat history, geodetic measurements of crustal rebound, satellite measurements of present ice heights and changes therein - with other geological and glaciological data and numerical geophysical modelling advances. The project contributes to the quantitative characterisation of the complex interactions between ice-sheets, oceans and solid earth within the climate system. Outcomes have implications for geophysics, glaciology, geomorphology, climate, and past and future sea-level change.Read moreRead less
Improved Geodetic Modelling through Very Long Baseline Interferometry. We plan to develop a geodetic VLBI capability to provide independent confirmation of results from alternative techniques such as GPS and SLR and allow us to characterise and remove the systematic errors inherent in these systems, to produce an optimum, unified terrestrial reference system based on VLBI measurements, together with GPS/SLR data, especially for the Antarctic region. The ITRF is based on the VLBI ICRF linking ou ....Improved Geodetic Modelling through Very Long Baseline Interferometry. We plan to develop a geodetic VLBI capability to provide independent confirmation of results from alternative techniques such as GPS and SLR and allow us to characterise and remove the systematic errors inherent in these systems, to produce an optimum, unified terrestrial reference system based on VLBI measurements, together with GPS/SLR data, especially for the Antarctic region. The ITRF is based on the VLBI ICRF linking our astrometric and geodynamic research programs.
We will estimate motion at sites from the combination of VLBI, GPS, gravity and tide gauge data for geodynamic effects, such as post-glacial rebound and tectonic motion, global mean sea level change and determine length-of-day (LOD) variations, focused primarily on understanding the contribution from the Southern Oceans.
Read moreRead less
Application of the Wavelet Transform to Isostatic Analyses in Australia. Existing methods of determining the Earth's isostatic response assume ideal but unrealistic conditions. This project will develop a new technique for isostatic analysis, using the two-dimensional wavelet transform. This tool can resolve spectral components of geophysical data in the space domain, thus avoiding the problems arising during the conventional Fourier analysis. With innovative processing methods, maps of the crus ....Application of the Wavelet Transform to Isostatic Analyses in Australia. Existing methods of determining the Earth's isostatic response assume ideal but unrealistic conditions. This project will develop a new technique for isostatic analysis, using the two-dimensional wavelet transform. This tool can resolve spectral components of geophysical data in the space domain, thus avoiding the problems arising during the conventional Fourier analysis. With innovative processing methods, maps of the crustal thickness from gravity and topography data can be generated, a task usually reserved for costly seismic experiments. Analysis of the wavelet power spectrum would also benefit the exploration industry by identifying previously unknown sedimentary basins.Read moreRead less
Development of Internet-based Kinematic GPS Solutions for Local and Regional Positioning Services. This interdisciplinary project develops a highly novel total network strategy for real-time kinematic GPS positioning services using the Internet communication protocols for data transmission. The proposed system is technically superior to existing network-based differential GPS (DGPS) systems, by providing positioning services at different accuracy levels (metre to centimetre) with reduced operati ....Development of Internet-based Kinematic GPS Solutions for Local and Regional Positioning Services. This interdisciplinary project develops a highly novel total network strategy for real-time kinematic GPS positioning services using the Internet communication protocols for data transmission. The proposed system is technically superior to existing network-based differential GPS (DGPS) systems, by providing positioning services at different accuracy levels (metre to centimetre) with reduced operational cost to users. The research focuses on improved network operations and processing, along with developing user-specific algorithms. The outcomes are expected to provide significant opportunities for both real time and near-real-time kinematic positioning applications and commercialisations of such services, in urban and regional areas of Australia.Read moreRead less
Validation of Synthetic Regional Gravity Field Models. This research will further develop the theoretical and practical methods required to test any model of the Earth's gravity field. Previously, geodesists have had to rely on analytical error estimates, usually based on observed data. A synthetic Earth gravity model avoids this scenario by giving an exact validation technique of the methods used. The synthetic model will allow users of geoid models (e.g., for GPS heighting) to have much mor ....Validation of Synthetic Regional Gravity Field Models. This research will further develop the theoretical and practical methods required to test any model of the Earth's gravity field. Previously, geodesists have had to rely on analytical error estimates, usually based on observed data. A synthetic Earth gravity model avoids this scenario by giving an exact validation technique of the methods used. The synthetic model will allow users of geoid models (e.g., for GPS heighting) to have much more confidence in their results. When used with a precise geoid model, GPS is faster and cheaper than conventional spirit-levelling, offering around 800% productivity gains. Read moreRead less
Investigations of the Integrity of the Australian Height Datum. The Australian Height Datum (AHD) forms the fundamental framework for all vertical spatial information in Australia. It supports a wide range of applications in areas such as geodesy, surveying, mapping, telecommunications, resource exploration and environmental science. This medium-term research programme will investigate the many issues surrounding the integrity of the AHD, and will rigorously redefine, correct and unify it with ....Investigations of the Integrity of the Australian Height Datum. The Australian Height Datum (AHD) forms the fundamental framework for all vertical spatial information in Australia. It supports a wide range of applications in areas such as geodesy, surveying, mapping, telecommunications, resource exploration and environmental science. This medium-term research programme will investigate the many issues surrounding the integrity of the AHD, and will rigorously redefine, correct and unify it within a global vertical framework. This will provide improved height information to the numerous users of the AHD in Australia, and allow Australia to contribute more fully to the global spatial data infrastructure.Read moreRead less
Ellipsoidal physical geodesy - improved global and local gravity field modelling. Improved techniques for gravity field modelling, using the ellipsoidal approach proposed in this research, will increase the accuracy of the Australian geoid model. A more accurate model of the geoid will bring great cost-benefits mainly to the Australian surveying, mapping and exploration community. For example, height determination from GPS [Global Positioning System] or similar satellite-based measurements is on ....Ellipsoidal physical geodesy - improved global and local gravity field modelling. Improved techniques for gravity field modelling, using the ellipsoidal approach proposed in this research, will increase the accuracy of the Australian geoid model. A more accurate model of the geoid will bring great cost-benefits mainly to the Australian surveying, mapping and exploration community. For example, height determination from GPS [Global Positioning System] or similar satellite-based measurements is only possible with the aid of an accurate geoid model. This will allow the use GPS to its full capacity and save valuable time and money (by as much as a factor of 10).Read moreRead less
Caught in a vice: Modelling crustal deformation in Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guinea is trapped between the collision of the Australian and Pacific Plates. This proposal uses GPS methods to measure and model the tectonic motion across Papua New Guinea, identifies and quantifies areas undergoing regional deformation near plate boundaries and within tectonic blocks, and evaluates the tectonic processes associated with such deformation. Numerical models will be developed to match the observed site ....Caught in a vice: Modelling crustal deformation in Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guinea is trapped between the collision of the Australian and Pacific Plates. This proposal uses GPS methods to measure and model the tectonic motion across Papua New Guinea, identifies and quantifies areas undergoing regional deformation near plate boundaries and within tectonic blocks, and evaluates the tectonic processes associated with such deformation. Numerical models will be developed to match the observed site motions, thereby revealing the nature of the active plate boundaries and the characteristics of the Earth's crust and mantle. The project will produce new results necessary for assessing the tectonic hazards of Papua New Guinea.
Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0236393
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$175,000.00
Summary
A Gigabit per second Data Recording System for Geodesy and Astronomy. We plan to acquire a gigabit per second digital data recorder for geodesy and astronomy. We will develop a geodetic VLBI capability to provide independent confirmation of results from alternative techniques such as GPS and SLR and allow us to characterise and remove the systematic errors inherent in these systems. We will estimate motion at sites from the combination of VLBI, GPS, gravity and tide gauge data for geodynamic ef ....A Gigabit per second Data Recording System for Geodesy and Astronomy. We plan to acquire a gigabit per second digital data recorder for geodesy and astronomy. We will develop a geodetic VLBI capability to provide independent confirmation of results from alternative techniques such as GPS and SLR and allow us to characterise and remove the systematic errors inherent in these systems. We will estimate motion at sites from the combination of VLBI, GPS, gravity and tide gauge data for geodynamic effects, such as post-glacial rebound and tectonic motion and global mean sea level change.
We will increase the density of southern radio sources used to define the International Celestial Reference Frame and investigate their structure and evolution. We will make high time resolution observations of young pulsars to study the phenomena of pulsar glitches and aid in the understanding of neutron star interiors.Read moreRead less