Gravitational measurements at the Caucasus Mountain Observatory of the SAI MSU and the possibility of using them to create a test site

Murat M. Murzabekov1 *,
Dmitry S. Bobrov2,
Ekaterina S. Konyakhina3,
Vyacheslav F. Fateev4,
Ruslan A. Davlatov5

1, 2, 3, 4, 5 FSUE “VNIIFTRI”, Mendeleevo, Moscow region, Russia
1 murzabekov@vniiftri.ru ( *corresponding author), SPIN-code: 9813-9766, ORCID: 0000-0002-7276-0290, Scopus ID: 57205218990
2 bobrov@vniiftri.ru, SPIN-code: 8835-6375, ORCID: 0000-0001-9386-012X, Scopus ID: 57189634520
3 konyahina_es@vniiftri.ru, ORCID: 0009-0003-7294-1934
4 generalfat@mail.ru, SPIN-code: 5385-8126, ORCID: 0000-0001-7902-0212
5 davlatov@vniiftri.ru, SPIN-code: 6390-5494, ORCID: 0000-0002-7520-0256, Scopus ID: 57210289994

Al’manac of Modern Metrology № 1 (45) 2025, pages 118–128

The page of the article in Russian

Original article

Abstract. This article presents the results of measurements of the Earth’s gravity field (EGF) parameters in the area of the Caucasus Mountain Observatory of the Sternberg Astronomical Institute of the Lomonosov Moscow State University. The EGF parameters were measured at stationary points located along two intersecting directions. A commercially available high-precision Scintrex CG-5 Autograv relative gravimeter and an Scintrex FGL absolute ballistic gravimeter were used to measure the acceleration due to gravity, while the Astrograv relocatable digital zenith camera developed at the FSUE “VNIIFTRI” was used to measure the plumb line deviation. Based on the measurement results, profiles of the route variations in the acceleration due to gravity, the components of the deflection of ver­tical, the horizontal components of the acceleration due to gravity and their spatial deriva­tives, and the geoid elevation were obtained. Proposals for using the gravimetric maps of the test site to verify the results of nanosatellite-based space gravimetry are also developed.

Keywords: test site, high-precision relative gravimeter, absolute ballistic gravimeter, de­flection of vertical, digital zenith camera, profiles of changes in gravitational field parameters

For citation: Murzabekov M.M., Bobrov D.S., Konyakhina E.S., Fateev V.F., Davlatov R.A. Gravi­tational measurements at the Caucasus Mountain Observatory of the SAI MSU and the possibility of using them to create a test site. Almanac of Modern Metrology. 2026; 45 (1): 118–128.

Funding. The work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation, project № 23-67-10007, https://rscf.ru/project/23-67-10007/.
Contribution of the authors. The authors contributed equally to the research and writing of the article.
Conflict of interests. The authors declare that they have no potential conflict of interest related to the research presented in this article.

References

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