InerLAB | Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Gdańsk University of Technology

InerLAB - Laboratory of marine and coastal gravimetric measurements

The research team has been conducting researches related to technologies of acquiring and exploiting gravimetric data since 2015. In 2017, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, appreciating advancement of the researches, by decision No. 6423 / IA / SP / 2015, awarded a specific subsidy for purchase of MGS-6 gravimetric system by LaCoste & Romberg.

Since 2018, the team is the only one in Poland that performs gravimetric measurements in the areas of the Baltic Sea. Gravimetric measurements, in some areas of the Polish economic zone, were pioneering. It should be noted that they are basis for all vertical reference systems. Measurements were carried out on "Hydrograf XXI" ship, "Nawigator XXI" ship, "Oceanograf", "Copernicus" yacht, ORP "Heweliusz" ship of the Polish Navy and Lithuanian training ship "Brabander". Apart from research in the South Baltic area, the team conducts measurements in areas of Pomeranian railway lines.

                                                           Measurement campaign areas

More information

Currently, the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering of the Gdańsk University of Technology has the Micro-g LaCoste MGS-6 mobile gravimeter, which is one of the most modern systems of this type in the world and the only one in Poland. The advantage of this system is the ability to perform measurements from mobile platforms such as vessels, flying units and ground vehicles with an accuracy of 10^-8 m / s². Such accurate measurements require very precise horizontal and vertical positioning.

The results of gravimetric measurements were presented at meetings of Chart Datum Working Group, which is one of working groups of the Baltic Sea Hydrographic Commission. Presentation topics:

• “Acquisition and exploration of gravimetric data of marine areas and its coastal zone”, 5-6 Febuary 2019;
• “Analysis of gravimetry measurements on the seaways of the Polish Exclusive Economy Zone”, 3-4 March 2020;
• “GUT & HOPN – Work progress review of Polish marine gravimetry at Southern Baltic-September 2021”, 7 September 2021.

The data is shared with other research teams and state institutions working for maritime safety:

• research database "Free-air anomaly grid on the Gulf of Gdańsk" ID DOI 10.34808 / 66r2-fs65 (open data),
• research database "Marine gravimetric data from Southern Baltic" ID DOI 10.34808 / n6sm-6n12 (access for institutions and universities).

The team cooperates (exchanging gravimetric data) with foreign institutions such as: the German Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (BKG), the Danish Technical University of Denmark (DTU), the Swedish Lantmäteriet (LM) and the Slovak University of Technology, Bratislava (SUT).