Glossary

Reference ellipsoid

An ellipsoid with geometric and physical properties used to best approaximate a given planetary body (the Earth or others). See Wikipedia.

Geocentric gravitational constant

The multiplication of the total mass of a reference ellipsoid and the gravitational constant. Often represented as \(GM\).

Normal gravity

The magnitude of the gradient of the gravity potential of a reference ellipsoid.

Gravity potential

The combined gravitational and centrifugal potential \(U = V + \Phi\) [HofmannWellenhofMoritz2006].

Gravity disturbance

The gravity disturbance is the difference between the magnitude of observed gravity and the magnitude of normal gravity evaluated at the same point [HofmannWellenhofMoritz2006]: \(\delta g(\lambda, \phi, h) = \|\vec{g}(\lambda, \phi, h)\| - \|\vec{\gamma}(\lambda, \phi, h)\|\)