Study on room-temperature effect of a superconducting gravimeter prototype

Purpose This study aims to reveal the room-temperature effect of a superconducting gravimeter prototype, which will guide its subsequent optimization to improve its gravimetric measurement accuracy. Design/methodology/approach Without leveling, the prototype output signal, tilt data and room temperature were measured under steady operating conditions. After analyzing the correlations of the three data sets, the residuals of the prototype’s output signal were compensated using the tilt data and the geodynamic effects (ocean tide loading, atmospheric loading and the gravitational effect of polar motion) were then corrected. Findings The remaining residuals after correction may be caused by small tilt variations that are due to the sensor chamber temperature and radiation shield temperature changes. These small tilt variations were submerged in the tilt signal noise. Although the peak-to-peak noise of the tiltmeter does not exceed 15 µrad, it can still produce gravimetric deviations above 60 µGal when the prototype is significantly tilted. Originality/value This study analyzes in detail the room-temperature effect of a superconducting gravimeter prototype, introduces the tilt effect of the relative gravimeters to compensate for the gravimetric deviations and emphasizes that the improvement of fine leveling and the accuracy of the tiltmeter are key requirements for the prototype to perform high-accuracy gravity measurement tasks.