Calibration of a superconducting gravimeter by comparison with an absolute gravimeter FG5 in Boulder

Abstract

This paper reports the results of a calibration of a superconducting gravimeter using simultaneous measurements of Earth tides with an absolute gravimeter. Nine consecutive days of observations were made with both the C024 superconducting gravimeter and the FG5-202 absolute gravimeter at the NOAA Table Mountain Gravity Observatory near Boulder, Colorado. The precision of the calibration factor is better than 0.1%. The calibration factor obtained in this fashion agrees well with that obtained from a moving platform. This experiment provides a noise estimate for both the superconducting and absolute gravimeter. In addition, the local air pressure admittances of both instruments compare well with a value close to -0.35 μGal/mbar.