In the Collaborative Research Centre TerraQ, about 60 scientists from geodesy and physics are going to develop fundamentally new metrology techniques, sensors and analysis methods. "This will enable us to significantly improve gravimetric Earth observation and make an essential contribution to climate research, with enormous implications for the entire field of geosciences," says Professor Jürgen Müller from the Institute of Geodesy at Leibniz University and SFB spokesperson.
Check out the SFB/CRC TerraQ website for the latest developments and the essential background information.
With the combination of expertise from geodesy and physics in TerraQ, engineering knowledge and basic research are uniquely brought together to significantly improve gravimetric Earth observations. The realisation of novel concepts is pioneering. For this, TerraQ puts the analytical models for characterisation and application of the new measurement concepts on a sound theoretical basis. In order to reveal the superior performance of the new over conventional approaches, dedicated geodetic and relativistic modelling of the various gravity field quantities involved will be performed.
In this context, quantum sensors based on atomic interferometry will be used to enable fast and precise gravity field measurements performed by compact devices or even stationary devices of ultrahigh precision. Methods and concepts for the development of a so far non-existent global-uniform height system are explored and developed by networks of optical clocks. The core of this is the measurement of frequency differences due to the gravitational redshift. Models and concepts for satellite-based earth observations are also in the process of being researched in order to better understand the connections between the gravitational field and climate changes.
All three fields combine to form a new area of metrology that of quantum based metrology, which will have a sustainable impact on the geosciences.
Leibniz Universität acts as the lead university and is involved with the Institut für Erdmessung, the Institute of Gravitational Physics and the Institute of Quantum Optics. The project duration is from January 1st, 2021 to December 31st, 2024 with the possibility of an extension until 2032.
