G014-03
An Atomic Interferometer Gravity Gradiometer for Earth Science

Monday, 14 December 2020: 12:00
Virtual
Scott B Luthcke1, Babak Saif2, Karin Fisher3, Lorin Ric Baird4, David Everett2, Roger Banting5, Mark Shappirio2, David D Rowlands2 and Bryant D Loomis2, (1)NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Geodesy and Geophysics Lab, Greenbelt, MD, United States, (2)NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, United States, (3)AOSense, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, United States, (4)AOSense, Inc, Sunnyvale, CA, United States, (5)ASRC @ GSFC, Greenbelt, United States
Recorded Presentation
Abstract:
The wealth of multi-disciplinary science achieved from the GRACE and GRACE Follow On (GRACE-FO) missions, the Resolution 2 from the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG, 2015), and the call for a Mass Change Designated Observable (MCDO) mission by the Earth Science Decadal Survey, all highlight the importance to implement a long-term satellite gravity observational system. Looking beyond the MCDO, we seek to measure time variable gravity (TVG) with accuracies at least an order of magnitude better than the first generation missions, at spatial and temporal resolutions to support regional and sub-basin scale multi-disciplinary science. These improved TVG measurements would have significant societal benefits including: forecasting of floods and droughts, improved quantification of climate impacts on water cycle and ice sheets, coastal vulnerability, land management, risk assessment of natural hazards, and water management.

To meet this challenge, NASA GSFC and AOSense are currently developing an Atomic Interferometer Gravity Gradiometer (AIGG) with the potential to significantly advance TVG accuracy and resolution with a single instrument, exploiting the advantages of the microgravity environment. The AIGG development has been supported by NASA under various programs, including NASA’s Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO) Instrument Incubator Program (IIP), and includes the design, build, and testing of a high-performance, single-tensor-component gravity gradiometer for TVG recovery from a satellite in low Earth orbit. The target space-based sensitivity per shot is 10-5 Eötvös (E) with a flat spectral bandwidth from 0.3 mHz - 0.03 Hz. Numerical simulations show that a single space-based AIGG in a 350 km altitude polar orbit is capable of exceeding the performance of the current generation of gravity missions.

We discuss the current status of the AIGG Laboratory instrument and its performance. We present the results of an initial space-based instrument design study including the resources required for space operations (e.g. volume, mass, power). We also discuss initial design considerations for a space-based implementation and present the expected TVG recovery performance. Implementation and performance challenges will be discussed, along with plans for future development.

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