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Earthquakes perturb both the ocean bottom topography due to displacements of sea floor and the geoid due to mass redistribution, which induces the relative sea level (RSL) change. However, the relative global mean sea level (GMSL) change is zero in that sea water mass is conserved. But the absolute GMSL change is not zero because earthquakes displace total ocean mass with respect to the Earth's center of mass (CM) which remains unchanged after an earthquake. This displacement, i.e. the absolute GMSL change, may be detectable by altimetry since the satellites are orbiting around CM. In this paper, we proposed a method to estimate co-seismic absolute GMSL change caused by earthquakes based on the point dislocation theory for a spherically symmetric, non-rotating, elastic and isotropic (SNREI) Earth. This change can be directly connected to the perturbation of ocean bottom topography. We first computed co-seismic displacements as well as the change in geo-potential and solved the sea level equation to validate the insignificance of the oceans' feedback, i.e. the loading effect due to RSL change, to co-seismic displacements. The results imply that the loading effect due to RSL change is negligible on displacements while is considerable on geoid. We then computed the absolute GMSL change caused by co-seismic vertical and horizontal displacements by making use of the integrated Green's function method. The numerical results show that a large earthquake may raise the absolute GMSL by magnitude of sub-millimeter and the recent three large events cause GMSL to rise about one millimeter, in which the contribution from horizontal displacement is non-negligible. Keywords: Point dislocation theory, SNREI earth, Sea level equation, Absolute GMSL, Ocean bottom topography

In order to verify the time variability of free core nutation (FCN) period, global superconducting gravimeter (SG) observations were analyzed based on synthetic test data. The gravity data series were synthesized to check the detectability of resonance variation caused by FCN period change. The tests indicate that the discrepancy between the FCN periods determined by SG and VLBI observations is caused by the high correlation between the FCN parameter and the amplitude factor of the ψ1 wave. The K1 wave is more sensitive to the FCN period change than other diurnal waves. The limit of the standard deviation of the K1 wave is found for more precisely observing the FCN period change. Tidal parameters of diurnal waves estimated from long series of 20 global SG stations were analyzed. A common variation trend is found in the amplitude factor of both K1 and ψ1 waves in all 8 stations above the limit, which indicates the FCN period may be not so stable in time. Furthermore, the variation in the K1 and ψ1 waves constrains the FCN period change to between 2.5 and 4 sidereal days, which also agrees with the possible variation from the current VLBI and SG observations.

We estimated local water storage change by combining space- and ground-based gravimetry in this paper. The gravity change from GRACE was first divided into local and global parts according to potential theory. We then subtracted the GRACE-derived global field from ground gravimeter results to obtain local gravity change which is directly induced by the local water storage. Finally we inferred the local water storage change. We used superconducting gravimeter (SG) data recorded from June 2008 to June 2012 at Wuhan station and GRACE satellite gravimetric data to estimate the local water storage change. To validate the inferred local water storage change, the water table records of a well which is several meters away from SG station were compared. Furthermore, the equivalent water heights from hydrological models and GRACE were used also for comparisons. The comparisons show that the results from combining SG and GRACE data are better than those from either GRACE data alone or hydrological models, which demonstrates the efficiency of the combination method to derive local water storage.

This research tests OSG-057 superconducting gravimeter (SG) performance in Lhasa in terms of noise levels in the seismic (2 min to 1 h), sub-seismic (1 to 6 h), and tidal (above 6 h) bands. Based on the Seismic Noise Magnitude (SNM) and Sub-Seismic Noise Magnitude (SSNM), 0.867 and 2.608 respectively, and compared to the noise levels of other SGs in the Global Geodynamics Project (GGP)/International Geodynamics and Earth Tide Service (IGETS), it is concluded that the instrument-site combination in Lhasa has low noise and good quality in both the seismic and sub-seismic bands. The seismic and sub-seismic band results were confirmed by large signal-to-noise ratio amplitude spectra observations below 1 milliHertz (mHz) obtained from OSG-057 data record residuals after the 4/11/2012 M8.6 Sumatra earthquake, and by background free Earth oscillation observations (‘hum’), although very weak. Using the ETERNA Earth Tide Analysis program in the tidal band, it was found that the OSG-057 performs well due to the low average noise amplitudes and small standard deviations. Knowledge of the noise levels of the OSG-057 SG in Lhasa in different frequency bands provides a necessary precondition and reference for its applications to both global and regional geodynamical researches.

We developed a new approach for computing the changes in the length of day (LOD) due to earthquakes from both shear- and tensile-type faults. This approach was based on the point dislocation theory for a SNREI Earth, which was validated by comparing our results with the ones obtained by the normal mode method. We defined two numerical functions that vary with hypocenter depth. These functions allow us to compute the co-seismic change of the trace of the Earth's inertia tensor, and hence the co-seismic LOD change. For future applications, by adding a trace term, we corrected Lambeck's formulas ( Lambeck, 1980 ), which are being commonly used for computing co-seismic LOD change. Finally, the new approach was used to compute the co-seismic LOD change from 1977 to 2011. The results show that the co-seismic trace and the co-seismic J2 changes contribute to the LOD change with the same magnitude ( Gross and Chao, 2006 ). This means that, unlike other deformation mechanisms, the trace term cannot be neglected when modeling the co-seismic LOD change. The earthquakes from 1977 to 2011 decreased the LOD by about 12 μs, and the rate of decrease was enhanced after the 2004 Sumatra earthquake due to several large earthquakes.

a b s t r a c t Gravity effect due to ocean tide loading (OTL) is an important signal and correction in various gravimetric applications. In this paper, we assessed the OTL gravity effects at four absolute gravity (AG) stations in coastal China from several perspectives. The integrated Green's function of the Newtonian part was derived analytically and that of the elastic part was computed based on the PREM earth model. Ocean tide (OT) records near the four AG stations were used to enhance the accuracy of the global ocean tide model of NAO99b and the regional model of NAO99jb for the innermost field (

New formulas for computing coseismic polar motion excitation and low-degree gravity changes, not only for shear but also for tensile earthquake, based on point dislocation theory are presented, with a set of concise expressions of Stokes coefficients in terms of dislocation Love numbers and fault parameters. The formulas directly involve an arbitrary seismic source and coseismic deformation and are validated through numerical computation for some specific earthquakes by comparison with previous results obtained using a normal mode approach. As an application, the formulas are applied to compute coseismic polar motion excitation and low-degree gravity changes caused by the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake (Mw9.0). Numerical results show that the coseismic J 2 change reaches magnitudes of between 10 −14 and 10 −13 , and coseismic J 3 , J 4 , and J 5 changes appear at a magnitude of 10 −12 . Furthermore, the polar motion excitation and J 3 and J 4 changes are explicitly dependent on the slip magnitude of the sub-fault whereas J 2 and J 5 are explicitly dependent on the horizontal location of the sub-fault. In addition, the generalized figure axis should have shifted by about 4 mas (milliarcseconds) toward 132°E longitude.

Based on the nearly diurnal resonance in the tidal gravity observations, the temporal variations in period of the Earth’s free core nutation (FCN) are investigated by using the tidal gravity observations of 18-year duration recorded continuously with a superconducting gravimeter (SG) at Brussels. The effects of the global oceanic tide loading and local barometric pressure on the SG observations have been removed by using eleven high-precision global digital models of oceanic tides and barometric pressure measurements recorded simultaneously at the same site. The results indicate that there exist decade-scale variations in the FCN period. The results should be further confirmed by the measurements using other space-based geodetic techniques (such as the very long baseline interferometry) and the SG observations from globally distributed stations.

Accurate correction models for tidal gravity in Chinese continent are developed by using the recent theoretical and experimental models for the Earth's tidal gravity, in which the loading effects of the global and local ocean tides are combined. The relative difference of tidal gravity variations induced from different Earth's tidal gravity models is less than 0.06%. The ocean tide loading effects are about 4% of the total tidal gravity in coastal area while they are about 1% in inland. The difference between the ocean tide loading effects estimated from global ocean tide models and modified global models with local tides is about 10% of the total ocean tide loading effects. And the interpolated and extrapolated ocean tide loading effects are about 3% of the total ones. Comparing the observed tidal gravity variations by superconducting gravimeter with the ones calculated through the correction models, it is confirmed that the models developed in this study can accurately predict the tidal gravity signatures with a precision much better than 0.5 × 10−8 m·s−2. Consequently, it is expected that the models should provide an effective reference and accurate correction models for gravity measurements.

The long-term continuous gravity observations obtained by the superconducting gravimeters (SG) at seven globally-distributed stations are comprehensively analyzed. After removing the signals related to the Earth’s tides and variations in the Earth’s rotation, the gravity residuals are used to describe the seasonal fluctuations in gravity field. Meanwhile, the gravity changes due to the air pressure loading are theoretically modeled from the measurements of the local air pressure, and those due to land water and nontidal ocean loading are also calculated according to the corresponding numerical models. The numerical results show that the gravity changes due to both the air pressure and land water loading are as large as 100×10−9 m s−2 in magnitude, and about 10×10−9 m s−2 for those due to the nontidal ocean loading in the coastal area. On the other hand, the monthly-averaged gravity variations over the area surrounding the stations are derived from the spherical harmonic coefficients of the GRACE-recovered gravity fields, by using Gaussian smoothing technique in which the radius is set to be 600 km. Compared the land water induced gravity variations, the SG observations after removal of tides, polar motion effects, air pressure and nontidal ocean loading effects and the GRACE-derived gravity variations with each other, it is inferred that both the ground- and space-based gravity observations can effectively detect the seasonal gravity variations with a magnitude of 100×10−9 m s−2 induced by the land water loading. This implies that high precision gravimetry is an effective technique to validate the reliabilities of the hydrological models.

We consider the characteristics of long-term changes in non-tidal gravity and their implication to the local perturbations in barometric pressure and water storage and to the local vertical crustal movement using the long-term continuous gravity observations from a superconducting gravimeter (SG) at Wuhan station, together with the co-site measurements from a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver and an absolute gravimeter FG5. The observation results indicate that there are obvious seasonal variations in the long-term gravity changes measured with the SG. About 70 percent of the whole seasonal changes come from the contribution of the local disturbances in air pressure and water storage, while over 95 percent of the annual changes are attributed to the loading effects of these environmental perturbations. Due to the absence of direct measurements of the local water storage, especially those of the underground water, the global assimilating models of land water LaD (Land Dynamics) and GLDAS (Global Land Data Assimilation System) cannot virtually describe the real hydrologic disturbances around the station. The resulting gravity changes, which are simulated theoretically by means of convolution integration of the loading Green’s functions and water models LaD and GLDAS, show significantly time delay of about 55 days from those measured with the SG. Compared with the measurements of the absolute gravity with the FG5, the long-term drift rate of the SG is determined as about 17.13 nms−2/a. From the co-site GPS measurements, it is found that the local crust is slowly subsiding at a rate of 3.71±0.16 mm/a, and the related gravity variation is estimated as 13.88±0.22 nms−2/a. In other words, the ratio of the changes in gravity and altitude related to the local vertical crustal movement is about −37.41 nms−2/cm. It implies that a considerable mass adjustment may be associated with the local vertical crustal movement, and its dynamic mechanism should be investigated further.

The gravimetric parameters of the gravity pole tide are the amplitude factor δ , which is the ratio of gravity variations induced by polar motion for a real Earth to variations computed for a rigid one, and the phase difference κ between the observed and the rigid gravity pole tide. They can be estimated from the records of superconducting gravimeters (SGs). However, they are affected by the loading effect of the ocean pole tide. Recent results from TOPEX/Poseidon (TP) altimeter confirm that the ocean pole tide has a self-consistent equilibrium response. Accordingly, we calculate the gravity loading effects as well as their influence on the gravimetric parameters of gravity pole tide at all the 26 SG stations in the world on the assumption of a self-consistent equilibrium ocean pole tide model. The gravity loading effect is evaluated between 1 January 1997 and 31 December 2006. Numerical results show that the amplitude of the gravity loading effect reaches 10 −9 m s −2 , which is larger than the accuracy (10 −10 m s −2 ) of a SG. The gravimetric factor δ is 1% larger at all SG stations. Then, the contribution of a self-consistent ocean pole tide to the pole tide gravimetric parameters cannot be ignored as it exceeds the current accuracy of the estimation of the pole tide gravity factors. For the nine stations studied in Ducarme et al. [Ducarme, B., Venedikov, A.P., Arnoso, J., et al., 2006. Global analysis of the GGP superconducting gravimeters network for the estimation of the pole tide gravimetric amplitude factor. J. Geodyn. 41, 334–344.], the mean of the modeled tidal factors δ m = 1.1813 agrees very well with the result of a global analysis δ CH = 1.1816 ± 0.0047 in that paper. On the other hand, the modeled phase difference κ m varies from −0.273° to 0.351°. Comparing to the two main periods of the gravity pole tide, annual period and Chandler period, κ m is too small to be considered. Therefore, The computed time difference κ L induced by a self-consistent ocean pole tide produces a negligible effect on κ m . It confirms the results of Ducarme et al., 2006, where no convincing time difference was found in the SG records.

The Earth’s free core nutation (FCN) is a retrograde eigenmode which is attributed to the interaction between the solid mantle and the liquid core of the rotational elliptical Earth. This mode appears as an eigenmode of nearly diurnal free wobble (NDFW) in a terrestrial reference frame with a period of about one day (XU et al, 2001). Therefore, the NDFW will lead to an obvious resonance enhancement in the diurnal tidal gravity observations, especially those of the tidal waves with frequencies closed to its eigenfrequency such as P1, K1, Ψ1 and Φ1. The FCN resonance parameters can be retrieved accurately by high-precision tidal gravity observations, especially those recorded with the superconducting gravimeters (SG). The Global Geodynamics Project (GGP) organized by IUGG took it as an important content for determining the FCN resonance parameters by using gravity data. However, the results are affected by many factors such as station location, background noise, the selection of the tide-generating potential tables, ocean tide models, data processing techniques and so on. In our study, the FCN parameters will be retrieved by using the SG observations at Wuhan, and the effects of the choices of various tide-generating potential tables, oceanic models and weight functions on the estimation of the FCN parameters will be discussed in detail.

Using observations of the superconducting gravimeter GWR-C032 at station Wuhan, the tidal gravity parameters reflecting the characteristics of the Earth's interior medium are obtained based on the harmonic analysis after variable preprocessing to the raw data. Meanwhile the gravity loading are calculated using the loading theory and a numerical integral convolution technique based on various global ocean tide models developed by methods of the altimetry technology and finite element with consideration of tidal gauge data as constraints. The loading corrections are carried out for tidal gravity parameters in diurnal and semidiurnal wave bands, respectively in order to investigate the adaptability of global ocean tide models. The numerical results show that the efficiencies of loading correction reach to 91% (O1, NAO99) and 92% (M2, ORI96) for instance. The average efficiencies of the loading corrections obtained with 11 oceanic models for four main constituents (O1, K1, M2 and S2) are 86%, 70%, 73% and 84%, respectively. And the discrepancies between amplitude factors and theoretical values decrease from (2.12%, 1.55%, 1.16% and 0.80%) to (0.31%, 0.39%, 0.34% and 0.08%), respectively. The comparison among various ocean models also shows that the loading correction efficiencies when using NAO99 and ORI96 models are higher than those when using other models. Additionally, other observations obtained with superconducting gravimeters at 7 stations in a network of the Global Geodynamic Project are also adopted to investigate the adaptability of the global ocean models. The results show that there exist obvious local tidal characteristics for different constituents in different ocean models and the earlier constructed SCW80 ocean model can still be used as an important reference in geodesy research.

The long series tidal gravity observations from 1997 to 2002 recorded with C032 superconducting gravimeter (SG) at station Wuhan/China are used in order to study the Earth's geodynamics. The tidal gravity parameters are determined precisely using Eterna software package after careful data pre-processing. The Earth's free core nutation (FCN) resonant parameters (eigenperiods, quality factors and resonant strengths) are determined accurately. The results show the determined eigenperiod to be 431.0 sidereal days with an accuracy of ±1.81%, the quality factor is a negative one as of −7002, and the resonance strength can be explained by the elastic property of the Earth's mantle. The discrepancy of the eigenperiods when using various ocean models can amount to ±1.8%. The 30 sidereal days difference between the determined eigenperiod in this paper and the one in theoretical computation given by Wahr and Bergen can be explained by the real dynamic ellipticity of the Earth's liquid core, i.e., it is about 5% larger than the one under the hydrostatic equilibrium assumption.

The long-term, continuous and high-quality tidal gravity data, recorded with the superconducting gravimeters (SGs) at 19 stations in the Global Geodynamics Project (GGP), were simultaneously used to investigate the global pattern of the tidal gravity variations. The atmospheric effects were removed from the gravity observations by using the simultaneous pressure records at the stations. A total of six global co-tidal models were employed to remove the loading effects of oceanic tides. The resonance parameters of the Earth's free core nutation (FCN), as well as the spheroidal constant components in the gravimetric factors of waves O1 and M2, were accurately retrieved. As a result, a global experimental model for gravity tides (GEMGT) was developed, considering the nearly diurnal resonance and the latitude-dependence of the gravimetric amplitude factors. The final results indicate that the mean discrepancy of the four main tidal waves (i.e. O1, K1, M2 and S2) between the GEMGT and SG observations is less than 0.2% on average. The GEMGT is in good agreement with the theoretical models based on the inelastic non-hydrostatic equilibrium Earth models [Dehant, V., Defraigne, P., Wahr, J., 1999. Tides for a convective Earth. J. Geophys. Res. 104, 1035–1058; Mathews, P.M., 2001. Love numbers and gravimetric factor for diurnal tides. J. Geodetic Soc. Jpn. 46 (4), 231–236] with a mean discrepancy less than 0.15%. However, the GEMGT is in closer accordance with the theoretical model given by Mathews [Mathews, P.M., 2001. Love numbers and gravimetric factor for diurnal tides. J. Geodetic Soc. Jpn. 46 (4), 231–236] for the diurnal tides while it is in closer agreement with one obtained by Dehant et al. [Dehant, V., Defraigne, P., Wahr, J., 1999. Tides for a convective Earth. J. Geophys. Res. 104, 1035–1058] for the semi-diurnal tides.

Long-term continuous gravity observations, recorded at five superconducting gravimeter (SG) sta- tions in the Global Geodynamic Project (GGP) net- work, as well as data on orientation variations in the Earth's rotation axis (i.e. polar motion), have been used to investigate the characteristics of gravity variations on the Earth's surface caused by polar motion. All the SG gravity data sets were pre-processed using identical techniques to remove the luni-solar gravity tides, the long-term trends of the instrumental drift, and the effects of atmospheric pressure. The analysis indicates that the spectral peaks, related to the Chandler and annual wobbles, were identified in both the power and product spectral density estimates. The magnitude of gravity variations, as well as the gravimetric amplitude factor associated with the Chandler wobble, changed significantly at different SG stations and during different observation periods. However, when all the SG obser- vations at these five sites were combined, the gravimetric parameters of the Chandler wobble were retrieved accurately: 1.1613 ± 0.0737 for the amplitude factor and )1� .30 ± 1� .33 for the phase difference. The value of the estimated amplitude factor is in agreement with that predicted theoretically for the zonal tides of an elastic Earth model.

The long period tidal gravity observations recorded with a superconducting gravimeter at station Wuhan/China from 1 January 1986 to 31 December 1994 (old series) and from 20 December 1997 to 30 April 2000 (new series) are studied comprehensively. The new tidal amplitude factors and phase differences are determined precisely using modern international standard data processing techniques. The tidal gravity signals due to the geophysical sources as of global ocean tides and local atmospheric pressure are comparatively studied. The dynamic influences of the Earth's core, i.e. the resonance parameters (eigenperiod, quality factor and resonance strength) of the free core nutation, are determined and the corresponding results are compared with those obtained in the previous studies.

The international tidal gravity reference values at Wuhan station are determined accurately based on the comprehensive analysis of the tidal gravity observations obtained from 8 instruments. By comparing these with those in the tidal models given by Dehant (1997) while considering simultaneously (i) the global satellite altimeters tidal data, and (ii) the Schwiderski global tidal data and the local ones along the coast of China, it is found that the average discrepancy of the amplitude factors and of the phase differences for four main waves are given as 5.2% and 3.6% and as 0.16° and 0.08° respectively. They are improved evidently compared to those determined in early stage, indicating the important procedures in improving the Wuhan international tidal gravity reference values when including the long-series observations obtained with a superconducting gravimeter, and when considering the influence of the ocean loading and of the nearly daily free wobble of the Earth’s core.

In this paper, the calibration factor of the superconducting gravimeter 057 (SG057) at the Lhasa station is accurately determined for the first time with a frequency-domain approach and the data recorded by the LaCoste Romberg Earth Tides No. 20 (LCR-ET20) gravimeter which is installed nearby SG057. The advantage of the frequency-domain approach is that it eliminates the influence of different gravimeter drifts on the determination of the calibration factor. The determined calibration factor of SG057 is (-77.7358 ± 0.0409) × 10^(-8) m s^(-2) V^(-1), and the relative accuracy is about 0.5 per mille. The newly determined calibration factor has been calculated with the Wuhan international tidal gravity reference values (ITGRVs) based on the data recorded by LCR-ET20 at the Wuhan station before it was installed at the Lhasa station. A high-precision synthesized gravity tide is achieved at the Lhasa station with accurate tidal parameters and theoretical tidal parameters for the long tidal waves from the Dehant-Defraigne-Wahr (DDW) earth tide model. The synthesized gravity tide can be used for tidal gravity corrections of future gravity measurements in the Tibetan area. The linear gravimeter drift of SG057 is estimated by gravity records without the effects of land uplift, atmosphere and polar motion yielding a rate of 6.8 × 10^(-8) m s^(-2) yr^(-1).

The adaptability of recent ocean tidal models and Earth tidal models is investigated comprehensively by means of 22 high precision tidal gravity observation series at 20 stations of the Global Geodynamics Project. Careful preprocessing of the original observations was carried out using international standard algorithms and the tidal gravity parameters were computed. The gravity load vectors of 8 main constituents are obtained based on loading computation theory and various global ocean models. The loading corrections of 14 secondary constituents are obtained based on a two-dimensional interpolation technique. Considering different characteristics of the wave amplitude, a method of “non-identical weighted mean” is developed for computing the averaged observed residual and remaining residual vectors at each station. The efficiency of the loading correction and the discrepancy between corrected amplitude factors and theoretical ones are analyzed. Meanwhile the calibration problem of the instruments is also discussed. After loading correction, the averaged tidal gravity parameters for all stations are obtained. The results show that the discrepancies between the global mean amplitude factors and theoretical values are less than 0.3%, the largest calibration error of the instruments is less than 0.5%. On the other hand, there are indications that the slight phase advance of K1 with respect to O1 in Mathews’ theory could be verified by ground based tidal gravity observations

The tidal and nontidal gravity change characteristics in the Tibetan Plateau region were investigated using the continuous gravity measurements recorded with a superconducting gravimeter (SG) installed in Lhasa from December 8, 2009 to September 30, 2011. The results indicated that the precision of the tidal gravity observations with the SG in Lhasa was very high. The standard deviation of the harmonic analysis for the gravity tides was 0.498 nm s^(-2), and the uncertainties of amplitude factors in the four main tidal waves (i.e., O1, K1, M2 and S2) were better than 0.002%. In addition, the diurnal gravity tide observations clearly revealed a pattern of nearly diurnal resonance. As a result, it is affirmed that the station should act as a local tidal gravity reference in the Tibetan Plateau and its adjacent regions. The load effects of oceanic tides are so weak that the resulting perturbation in the gravimetric factors is less than 0.6%. However, the load effects of the local atmosphere on either the tidal or the nontidal gravity observations are significant, although no seasonal variations have been found. After removing the atmospheric effects, the standard deviation of the harmonic analysis for the gravity tides decreased obviously from 4.160 to 0.498 nm s^(-2). Having removed the load effects of oceanic tides and local atmosphere, it is found that the tidal gravity observations are significantly different from those expected theoretically, which may be related to active tectonic movement and extremely thick crust in the Tibetan Plateau region. In addition, the Earth's free oscillations excited by 2011 Tohoku-Oki Mw 9.0 Earthquake were successfully detected.

Based on the 21 series of the high precision tidal gravity observations recorded using superconducting gravimeters (SG) at 14 stations distributed globally (in totally about 86 years), the translational oscillations of the Earth’s solid inner core (ESIC) is detected in this paper. All observations are divided into two groups with G-I group (8 relatively longer observational series) and G-II group (13 relatively shorter observational series). The detailed corrections to minute original observations for each station are carried out, the error data due to the earthquakes, power supply impulses and some perturbations as change in atmospheric pressure and so on are carefully deleted for the first step, the gravity residuals are obtained after removing further synthetic tidal gravity signals. The Fast Fourier Transform analysis is carried out for each residual series, the estimations of the product spectral densities in the subtidal band are obtained by using a multi-station staking technique. The 8 common peaks are found after further removing the remaining frequency dependent pressure signals. The eigenperiods, quality factors and resonant strengths for these peaks are simulated. The numerical results show that the discrepancies of the eigenperiods for 3 of 8 peaks, compared to those of theoretical computation given by Smith, are only 0.4%, −0.4% and 1.0%. This coincidence signifies that the dynamical phenomenon of the Earth’s solid inner core can be detected by using high precision ground gravity observations. The reliability of the numerical computation is also checked, the spectral peak splitting phenomenon induced by Earth’s rotation and ellipticity is preliminary discussed in this paper.

Tidal gravity changes arise from the response of the solid Earth to the tidal forces of the Sun, Moon and planets close to the Earth, and are a comprehensive reflection of the structure and distribution of physical properties of the Earth’s interior. As a result, observations of tidal gravity changes are the basis of studies on other global and/or regional dynamic processes. The characteristics of tidal gravity changes in the region of the Tibetan Plateau were investigated through continuous gravity measurements recorded with a superconducting gravimeter (SG) installed in Lhasa over a year. Through contrast measurements with a spring gravimeter LaCoste-Romberg ET20 at the same site, the gravity observations in Lhasa were scaled to the international tidal gravity reference in Wuhan. Meanwhile, the scale factor of the SG was determined accurately as −777.358 ± 0.136 nm s−2 V−1, which is about 2.2% less than the value provided by the manufacturer. The results indicate that the precision of the tidal gravity observations made with the SG in Lhasa was very high. The standard deviation was 0.459 nm s−2, and the uncertainties of for the four main tidal waves (i.e. O1, K1, M2 and S2) were better than 0.006%. In addition, the observations of the diurnal gravity tides had an obvious pattern of nearly diurnal resonance. As a result, it is affirmed that the Lhasa station can provide a local tidal gravity reference for gravity measurements on the Tibetan Plateau and its surrounding regions. The loading effects of oceanic tides on tidal gravity observations in Lhasa are so weak that the resulting perturbations in the gravimetric factors are less than 0.6%. However, the loading effects of the local atmosphere on either the tidal or nontidal gravity observations are significant, although no seasonal variations were found. After removal of the atmospheric effects, the standard deviation of the SG observations in Lhasa decreased obviously from 2.009 to 0.459 nm s−2. Having removed the loading effects of oceanic tides and local atmosphere, it was found that the tidal gravity observations made with the SG in Lhasa significantly differed by about 1% from those expected theoretically, which may be related to active tectonic movement and the extremely thick crust in the region of the Tibetan Plateau. A more-certain conclusion requires longer accumulation of SG data and further associated theoretical studies.