GOCE: Gravity Field Processing Facility (GFPF) Graz

Based on the successful work performed in the project GOCE DAPC, the main objective of GFPF is the implementation and integration of a fully operable software system for the processing of an optimum Earth’s gravity field model based on the data of ESA’s satellite gravity mission GOCE (Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer), combining orbit observations derived from GPS satellite-to-satellite tracking, and the analysis of the GOCE gravity gradiometer data. This includes the development of all required algorithms, the software testing and integration, and comprises two main software components: The Quick-Look Gravity Field Analysis is applied to compute very fast approximate gravity field solutions in parallel to the mission, for the purpose to derive a fast diagnosis of the GOCE system performance. The Core Solver is based on parallel processing techniques on a PC cluster, and solves the large normal equation systems (70,000 unknowns) rigorously. These tasks are performed in conjunction with the ESA-project “GOCE High-Level Processing Facility”, performed by the European GOCE Gravity Field Consortium (EGG-C). As a by-product of these software developments, Earth’s gravity field solutions from the satellite mission CHAMP could be derived. Additionally, in the framework of GFPF the benefits of an incorporation of data from complementary satellite missions (CHAMP, GRACE), but also terrestrial and air-borne data, will be investigated.