A Nineteen Day Earth Tide Measurement with a MEMS Gravimeter

Prasad, A. , Middlemiss, R. P. , Anastasiou, K., Bramsiepe, S. G. , Noack, A., Paul, D. J. , Toland, K. , Utting, P. R. and Hammond, G. D. (2021) A Nineteen Day Earth Tide Measurement with a MEMS Gravimeter. arXiv, (Unpublished)

[img] Text
256837.pdf - Submitted Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.

1MB

Publisher's URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/2109.13715

Abstract

The measurement of tiny variations in local gravity enables the observation of subterranean features. Gravimeters have historically been extremely expensive instruments, but usable gravity measurements have recently been conducted using MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) sensors. Such sensors are cheap to produce, since they rely on the same fabrication techniques used to produce mobile phone accelerometers. A significant challenge in the development of MEMS gravimeters is maintaining stability over long time periods, which is essential for long term monitoring applications. A standard way to demonstrate gravimeter stability and sensitivity is to measure the periodic elastic distortion of the Earth due to tidal forces - the Earth tides. Here we present a nineteen day measurement of the Earth tides, with a correlation coefficient to the theoretical signal of 0.979. The estimated bias instability of the proposed gravimeter is 8.18 microGal for an averaging time of ~400 s when considering the raw, uncompensated data. The bias instability extracted from the sensor electronic noise sits just under 2 mircoGal for an averaging time of ~200 s. After removing the long-term temperature and control electronics effects from the raw data, a linear drift of 268 microGal/day is observed in the data, which is among one of the best reported for a MEMS device. These results demonstrate that this MEMS gravimeter is capable of conducting long-therm time-lapse gravimetry, a functionality essential for applications such as volcanology.

Item Type:Articles
Additional Information:This work was funded by the Royal Society Paul Instrument Fund, STFC grant number ST/M000427/1, and the UK National Quantum Technology Hub in Quantum Enhanced Imaging (EP/M01326X/1), the EU H2020 project ‘NEWTON-g’ (H2020-FETOPEN-1-2016-2017) and the Royal Academy of Engineering (Project RF/201819/18/83).
Status:Unpublished
Refereed:No
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Bramsiepe, Mr Steven and Hammond, Professor Giles and Utting, Phoebe and Toland, Dr Karl and Paul, Professor Douglas and Anastasiou, Mr Kristian and Noack, Mr Andreas and Middlemiss, Dr Richard and Prasad, Dr Abhinav
Authors: Prasad, A., Middlemiss, R. P., Anastasiou, K., Bramsiepe, S. G., Noack, A., Paul, D. J., Toland, K., Utting, P. R., and Hammond, G. D.
College/School:College of Science and Engineering
College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Electronics and Nanoscale Engineering
College of Science and Engineering > School of Physics and Astronomy
Research Centre:College of Science and Engineering > School of Physics and Astronomy > Institute for Gravitational Research
Journal Name:arXiv
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2021 The Authors
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

University Staff: Request a correction | Enlighten Editors: Update this record

Project CodeAward NoProject NamePrincipal InvestigatorFunder's NameFunder RefLead Dept
190789Monolithic Silicon Photonics Interferometer for Ultra-sensitive MEMS SensorsGiles HammondScience and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)ST/M000427/1P&S - Physics & Astronomy
190841UK Quantum Technology Hub in Enhanced Quantum ImagingMiles PadgettEngineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)EP/M01326X/1P&S - Physics & Astronomy
305114RAEng Fellowship Richard MiddlemissRichard MiddlemissRoyal Academy of Engineering (RAE)RF/201819/18/83ENG - Electronics & Nanoscale Engineering