More accurate datums mean better data

– The Sentinel-3A/B satellite studies the level of seas and oceans and their temperature, the GRACE-A/B and GRACE-FO satellites are used to study the Earth's gravitational field, and other satellites are used to study the magnetic field or to create models of the land surface – says Dr. Dariusz Strugarek, and immediately explains that in his project he intends to analyse data from 14 satellites collected over ten years, and with the help of special software, create a new IT tool that will make it possible to identify and reduce systematic errors occurring during analyses.

– Until now, we did not have suitable tools for the analysis of LEO data, but now we can use the existing Bernese GNSS software and, of course, implement further functions into it, which are necessary for our work – says Dr Strugarek, who, in the research grant he has won, has planned an internship at Hitotsubashi University in Japan, with one of the reviewers of his doctoral thesis, Professor Toshimishi Otsubo, who is a world expert in SLR technology, i.e. laser distance measurements. – My presentations at international scientific conferences, in which I presented the problem of modelling observations to LEO satellites obtained by the SLR technique, aroused interest. The environment is curious about new solutions and I am counting on a response after presenting research results based on previously unused data – says Dr. Strugarek and explains that he will analyse data whose precise orbits are provided by GNSS and DORIS techniques and to which stations of the SLR technique perform distance measurements, he explains.

In the project, the quality of the orbits will be inspected, effects influencing the quality of SLR measurements will be identified and reduced, and LEO combinations for the calculation of station coordinates will be preceded by tests of different computational strategies. An SLR-based Earth reference system will be determined, the quality of which will be verified by comparison with reference system realisations used to date. This will not only provide LEO missions and their operators with further new applications for monitoring and understanding the changes taking place with the ever-changing Earth system, but, above all, a better understanding of the geodynamic phenomena and processes monitored by global geodetic parameters and precise reference systems. – A more accurate datum means better satellite geodesy data for the scientific community, institutions, companies and societies. And better data means better monitoring of earthquakes, tsunamis, melting ice, precise datums for engineering measurements in construction or mining, but also better monitoring of the quality of vegetation, the amount of water in the soil, soil erosion, or satellite navigation used today – emphasises Dr. Dariusz Strugarek.

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