Local Tie Record 2004/20 Summary

The integrity and strengths of multi-technique terrestrial reference frames such as ITRF2000 depend on the precisely measured and expressed local tie connection between space geodetic observing systems at co-located observatories.

The destructive Canberra fires of January 2003 completely destroyed the Mount Stromlo Satellite Laser Ranging observatory including the SLR, DORIS, GLONASS and GPS located at the site. Fortunately, Geoscience Australia had routinely performed classical terrestrial surveys at Mount Stromlo, including surveys in 1999, 2002 and 2003 (post-fire). These surveys have included the determination of the Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) invariant point (IVP). Using existing un-damaged survey pillars, a consistent stable terrestrial network has been used to compute the relationship between the pre and post fire local tie connections. This relationship includes the millimetre level accurate connections and their associated variance co-variance matrix and provides an un-broken contribution of the Mount Stromlo observatory to future terrestrial reference frames and other scientific outputs. In this report observational and analysis techniques are reviewed and results are given.

• See the complete Record 2004/20 [PDF_4.47Mb]

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