Analysis of different combinations of gravity data types in gravimetric geoid determination over Bali

Abstract Following the Regulation of the Head of the Geospatial Information Agency (BIG) No. 13 of 2021, geoid is used as the Vertical Geospatial Reference System in Indonesia. Applications using the geoid as an ideal reference require a much higher accuracy and resolution than the geoid obtained from models derived solely from satellite data. The Indonesian Geospatial Information Agency considers the geoid ideal if it has reached an accuracy of better than 15 cm. Recent studies have combined satellite and other gravimetric data to produce a combined geoid model with increased resolution. Gravimetric data obtained from measurements close to the Earth’s surface, such as airborne and terrestrial gravity data, are particularly attractive because the high-frequency portion of the signal is more apparent and can contribute to the medium to high frequencies of the gravity field. This study models the geoid over Bali Island by combining satellite, airborne and terrestrial gravity data. Calculations were performed using Least Square Collocation (LSC) and Remove-Compute-Restore (RCR) techniques. The gravimetric geoid model was tested against the geometric geoid profile calculated from a GNSS/Levelling survey. The geoid, calculated by combining the GOCO06S satellite gravity model, the GGMplus gravity model and airborne gravity data at an average flight altitude of 4100 m produces a standard deviation of 14.46 cm along the 125 km validation path. After also adding terrestrial gravity data, the standard deviation increased to 16.37 cm. By comparison, the results of the validation of the geoid model from GOCO06S and INAGEOIDV2 with geometric geoids have standard deviation values of 79.56 cm and 16.40 cm, respectively. However, the results of the statistical tests are strongly influenced by the data quality used as validation, in this case, GNSS/Levelling. It is shown that the GNSS/Levelling data over Bali contains significant errors, which have been reduced based on an analysis of geometric vertical deflections. A geometric geoid profile with higher accuracy is required to test the accuracy of the gravimetric geoid models more reliably.