Estimation of Helmert Orthometric Heights Using Digital Barcode Levelling, Observed Gravity and Topographic Mass-Density Data Over Part of the Darling Scarp, Western Australia

The normal orthometric corrections used in the 1971 establishment of the Australian Height Datum (AHD) do not properly account for local variations in the Earth?s gravity field. Therefore, Helmert orthometric heights have been computed over a spirit-levelled height traverse over part of the Darling...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Featherstone, Will, Allister, N.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Institution of Surveyors, Australia 2001
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/43174
_version_ 1848756617723510784
author Featherstone, Will
Allister, N.
author_facet Featherstone, Will
Allister, N.
author_sort Featherstone, Will
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The normal orthometric corrections used in the 1971 establishment of the Australian Height Datum (AHD) do not properly account for local variations in the Earth?s gravity field. Therefore, Helmert orthometric heights have been computed over a spirit-levelled height traverse over part of the Darling Fault and compared with normal orthometric heights. This involves a measured height change of ~175m, a measured gravity change of ~34mGal, and an estimated change in topographic mass-density of 480kgm-3. The computed Helmert orthometric correction reaches -4.8mm between the end-points of the traverse, whereas the normal orthometric correction only reaches 0.1mm. However, computing the corrections over each bay in the traverse gives totals over the entire traverse of -0.8 mm for the Helmert orthometric corrections and 0.2 mm for the normal orthometric corrections. A difference of 0.1 mm was observed between the Helmert orthometric corrections computed with constant and variable topographic mass-density models. It is recommended that orthometric corrections, which take into account observed gravity and topographic mass-density, be considered in any future redefinition of the AHD.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T09:15:03Z
format Journal Article
id curtin-20.500.11937-43174
institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T09:15:03Z
publishDate 2001
publisher Institution of Surveyors, Australia
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling curtin-20.500.11937-431742017-01-30T15:05:25Z Estimation of Helmert Orthometric Heights Using Digital Barcode Levelling, Observed Gravity and Topographic Mass-Density Data Over Part of the Darling Scarp, Western Australia Featherstone, Will Allister, N. orthometric correction heights australian height datum The normal orthometric corrections used in the 1971 establishment of the Australian Height Datum (AHD) do not properly account for local variations in the Earth?s gravity field. Therefore, Helmert orthometric heights have been computed over a spirit-levelled height traverse over part of the Darling Fault and compared with normal orthometric heights. This involves a measured height change of ~175m, a measured gravity change of ~34mGal, and an estimated change in topographic mass-density of 480kgm-3. The computed Helmert orthometric correction reaches -4.8mm between the end-points of the traverse, whereas the normal orthometric correction only reaches 0.1mm. However, computing the corrections over each bay in the traverse gives totals over the entire traverse of -0.8 mm for the Helmert orthometric corrections and 0.2 mm for the normal orthometric corrections. A difference of 0.1 mm was observed between the Helmert orthometric corrections computed with constant and variable topographic mass-density models. It is recommended that orthometric corrections, which take into account observed gravity and topographic mass-density, be considered in any future redefinition of the AHD. 2001 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/43174 Institution of Surveyors, Australia fulltext
spellingShingle orthometric correction
heights
australian height datum
Featherstone, Will
Allister, N.
Estimation of Helmert Orthometric Heights Using Digital Barcode Levelling, Observed Gravity and Topographic Mass-Density Data Over Part of the Darling Scarp, Western Australia
title Estimation of Helmert Orthometric Heights Using Digital Barcode Levelling, Observed Gravity and Topographic Mass-Density Data Over Part of the Darling Scarp, Western Australia
title_full Estimation of Helmert Orthometric Heights Using Digital Barcode Levelling, Observed Gravity and Topographic Mass-Density Data Over Part of the Darling Scarp, Western Australia
title_fullStr Estimation of Helmert Orthometric Heights Using Digital Barcode Levelling, Observed Gravity and Topographic Mass-Density Data Over Part of the Darling Scarp, Western Australia
title_full_unstemmed Estimation of Helmert Orthometric Heights Using Digital Barcode Levelling, Observed Gravity and Topographic Mass-Density Data Over Part of the Darling Scarp, Western Australia
title_short Estimation of Helmert Orthometric Heights Using Digital Barcode Levelling, Observed Gravity and Topographic Mass-Density Data Over Part of the Darling Scarp, Western Australia
title_sort estimation of helmert orthometric heights using digital barcode levelling, observed gravity and topographic mass-density data over part of the darling scarp, western australia
topic orthometric correction
heights
australian height datum
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/43174