A demonstration of a transportable radio interferometric surveying system with 3-cm accuracy on a 307-m base line

Abstract

A precision geodetic measurement system (Aries for Astronomical Radio Interferometric Earth Surveying) based on the technique of very long base line interferometry has been designed and implementedthrough the use of a 9-m transportable antenna and the NASA 64-m antenna of the Deep Space Communications Complex at Goldstone, California. A series of experiments designed to demonstrate the inherent accuracy of a transportable interferometer was performed on a 307-m base line during the period from December 1973 to June 1974. This short base line was chosen in order to obtain a comparison with a conventional survey with a few-centimeter accuracy and to minimize Aries errors due to transmission media effects, source locations, and earth orientation parameters. The base line vector derived from a weighted average of the measurements, representing approximately 24 h of data, possessed a formal uncertainty of about 3 cm in all components. This average interferometry base line vector was in good agreement with the conventional survey vector within the statistical range allowed by the combined uncertainties (3-4 cm) of the two techniques. ß ß / ß ß ß / ß ß / ß / ß ß ß ß

Geodesy by radio interferometry: Determination of a 1.24‐km base line vector with ∼5‐mm repeatability

“…The technique of very long base line interferometry (VLBI) has been under development for several years to enable vector base lines to be determined between arbitrary points on the earth's crust from observations of extragalactic radio sources [Shapiro and Knight, 1970;Hinteregger et al, 1971Hinteregger et al, , 1972; Shapiro eta!., 1974; Thomas et al, 1976;Ong et al, 1976]. A major goal of this continuing effort is to reduce the uncertainty in such determinations to the millimeter level for short base lines and to the centimeter level for intercontinental base lines, the observations extending over about 8 hours or somewhat less in each case.…”

Applications of Geodesy to Geodynamics an International Symposium

“…Initially, the ARIES 9m stations began S-band (2.3 GHz) experiments on a 307 m baseline near the Goldstone 64m MARS station (DSS 14) and demonstrated a 3 cm accuracy relative to a direct line of sight geodetic survey (Ong, et al 1976). That first experiment sequence demonstrated absolute three-dimensional accuracy (within 3 cm) in a limited case; that is, if the technique could not achieve the absolutely correct vector on 307 m, it certainly would fail on longer baselines where the initial goal was 10 cm.…”

Earthquake Prediction-Related Research at the Seismological Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 1974-1976

“…Using a 9 meter transportable radio antenna station, the project ARIES (Astronomical Radio Interferometric Earth Surveying) operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory has been developed to do precise three-dimensional surveying over long station separations (MACDORAN, 1973(MACDORAN, , 1974ONG et al, 1976). Four locations within the Palmdale uplift zone (Pasadena, Saddle Peak, Palos Verdes, and Pearblossom) have been measured in three dimensions relative to Goldstone and the Owens Valley with a precision of 10cm or better.…”