Application of Molodensky's Method for Precise Determination of Geoid in Iran

Abstract

Application of Molodensky's Method for Precise Determination of Geoid in Iran: Determination of the geoid with a high accuracy is a challenging task among geodesists. Its precise determination is usually carried out by combining a global geopotential model with terrestrial gravity anomalies measured in the region of interest along with some topographic information. In this paper, Molodensky's approach is used for precise determination of height anomaly. To do this, optimum combination of global geopotential models with the validated terrestrial surface gravity anomalies and some deterministic modification schemes are investigated. Special attention is paid on the strict modelling of the geoidal height and height anomaly difference. The accuracy of the determined geoid is tested on the 513 points of Iranian height network the geoidal height of which are determined by the GPS observations.