An inverse gravimetric problem with GOCE data

Satellite missions dedicated to the estimation of the gravity field and its variation, like GRACE and GOCE, have drawn new attention on inverse gravimetric problems and, in particular, on the capability of these satellite data sets to describe nature and geographical location of the gravimetric signal. In this paper a semi-analytical method to detect Earth’s density anomalies, based on Fourier analysis and Wiener filter, has been developed. The method has been tested on simulated observations of the gravitational potential and its second radial derivatives with the aim of assessing the capability of the GOCE mission to detect the shape of the oceanic floor from satellite data only. Despite the simplistic hypotheses involved in our example, positive results have been obtained, showing that the shape of the oceanic floor can be estimated with a reasonable accuracy at a resolution consistent with the expected GOCE performance.