Least-squares multi-spacecraft gradient calculation with automatic error estimation
Multi-spacecraft missions allow the gradient of important physical quantities in the terrestrial environment to be determined. The gradient can be computed from four simultaneous measurements in a straightforward way, but this computation does not produce proper error estimates, making it hard to...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2008-10-01
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| Series: | Annales Geophysicae |
| Online Access: | https://www.ann-geophys.net/26/3295/2008/angeo-26-3295-2008.pdf |
| Summary: | Multi-spacecraft missions allow the gradient of important physical quantities
in the terrestrial environment to be determined. The gradient can be computed
from four simultaneous measurements in a straightforward way, but this
computation does not produce proper error estimates, making it hard to assess
the meaningfulness of the result. Recently developed least-squares gradient
computation techniques offer the possibility to obtain more precise results
with all-inclusive error estimates, provided that information about the
non-linearity of the space and time variations of the observed quantity is
given. The present paper describes several heuristics for estimating these
variations, thereby enabling a fully automatic computation of the gradient
and the associated error estimates. The performance of these heuristics is
illustrated with synthetic data corresponding to 4- and 10-spacecraft
configurations. |
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| ISSN: | 0992-7689 1432-0576 |