How to fix the geodetic datum for reference frames in geosciences applications?

Abstract

Geodetic parameters always correspond to a reference system defined by conventions and realized by a reference frame through materialized points with given coordinates. For the coordinate estimation one has to fix the geodetic datum, i.e. the origin and directions of the coordinate axes, and the scale unit. In geosciences applications, e.g. for geodynamics and global change research, the datum has to be fixed over a very long time period in order to refer time-dependent parameters to one and the same reference frame. The paper focuses on the methodology how to fix the datum by parameters independent of the measurements and deformations of the reference frame, and to hold it over a long time span. It is shown that transformations between reference frames at different epochs are not suited to realize the datum parameters because systematic network deformations may affect it. Independent parameters are in particular the first degree and order harmonic coefficients of the gravity field for fixing the origin, and external calibration for fixing the scale. The long-term stability is achieved by the permanent fixing of the datum parameters. Regional reference frames must refer to the global datum by using epoch station coordinates as fiducial values. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012.