Sarah Böckmann

THE SECOND REALIZATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL CELESTIAL REFERENCE FRAME BY VERY LONG BASELINE INTERFEROMETRY

We present the second realization of the International Celestial Reference Frame (ICRF2) at radio wavelengths using nearly 30 years of Very Long Baseline Interferometry observations. ICRF2 contains precise positions of 3414 compact radio astronomical objects and has a positional noise floor of ∼40 μas and a directional stability of the frame axes of ∼10 μas. A set of 295 new “defining” sources was selected on the basis of positional stability and the lack of extensive intrinsic source structure. The positional stability of these 295 defining sources and their more uniform sky distribution eliminates the two greatest weaknesses of the first realization of the International Celestial Reference Frame (ICRF1). Alignment of ICRF2 with the International Celestial Reference System was made using 138 positionally stable sources common to both ICRF2 and ICRF1. The resulting ICRF2 was adopted by the International Astronomical Union as the new fundamental celestial reference frame, replacing ICRF1 as of 2010 January 1.

GGOS-D Consistent, High-Accuracy Technique-Specific Solutions

Consistent and homogeneous long-time series of the space geodetic techniquesGlobal Positioning System (GPS), Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR), andVery Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) provide the basis for thecombination efforts of GGOS-D. For a consistent combination, thedefinition of common standards for parameterization and modeling isessential. These standards and the technique-specific processingoptions of all individual GPS, SLR, and VLBI solutions as well asthe combined SLR and VLBI solutions are discussed.

GGOS-D Consistent and Combined Time Series of Geodetic/Geophyical Parameters

The generation of the GGOS-D global terrestrial reference frame is based on VLBI, SLR, and GPS observations. The respective observation blocks, analysed as individual units, depend on the technique and cover either full weeks, full days (GPS and SLR) or observing sessions of 24 h duration (VLBI). From these observation units, time series of parameters have been inferred and studies of the quality of the results have been carried out for the identification of deficits in the analyses. In this paper, we describe examples of time series of site coordinates, Earth orientation, and atmosphere parameters as well as peculiarities in the behaviour of these parameters.