Airborne gravity gradiometers
US6883372B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 13, 2002 |
| Grant date | Apr 26, 2005 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 13, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01V7/16
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
This invention concerns gravity gradiometers for airborne surveys for minerals. The gravity gradiometer comprises an inertially stabilized platform, a rotor that is between 0.4 and 1.5 m in diameter mounted in the stabilized platform, and between twelve and seventy two accelerometers arranged in complements of four each on the rotor; and a signal processor operative to: (i) subtract noise calculated from the mass distribution of the aircraft and the inertially stabilised platform, and by the angles of the gimbals of the stabilised platform; (ii) use measures of the accelerations experienced by the gravity gradiometer to estimate the sensitivities of the gravity gradiometer to the acceleration, and use this estimate to correct the gravity gradiometer output; and (iii), use measures of the rotations to which the gravity gradiometer is subjected to calculate the contribution of rotation to the gravity gradiometer noise, and to remove the contribution of rotation to said gravity gradiometer noise.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.