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The AuScope geodetic VLBI array

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Abstract

The AuScope geodetic Very Long Baseline Interferometry array consists of three new 12-m radio telescopes and a correlation facility in Australia. The telescopes at Hobart (Tasmania), Katherine (Northern Territory) and Yarragadee (Western Australia) are co-located with other space geodetic techniques including Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and gravity infrastructure, and in the case of Yarragadee, satellite laser ranging (SLR) and Doppler Orbitography and Radiopositioning Integrated by Satellite (DORIS) facilities. The correlation facility is based in Perth (Western Australia). This new facility will make significant contributions to improving the densification of the International Celestial Reference Frame in the Southern Hemisphere, and subsequently enhance the International Terrestrial Reference Frame through the ability to detect and mitigate systematic error. This, combined with the simultaneous densification of the GNSS network across Australia, will enable the improved measurement of intraplate deformation across the Australian tectonic plate. In this paper, we present a description of this new infrastructure and present some initial results, including telescope performance measurements and positions of the telescopes in the International Terrestrial Reference Frame. We show that this array is already capable of achieving centimetre precision over typical long-baselines and that network and reference source systematic effects must be further improved to reach the ambitious goals of VLBI2010.

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Acknowledgments

This study made use of data collected through the AuScope initiative. AuScope Ltd is funded under the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS), an Australian Commonwealth Government Programme. JM ad SS were supported under the Australian Research Council’s Super Science funding scheme (projects FS110200045 and FS100100037). We wish to thank our reviewers for a comprehensive and constructive list of comments. Last, we wish to thank the International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry (IVS) for access to VLBI data products used in this paper and for advice and support during the conception, design, commissioning and operation of the AuScope VLBI Array.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 37, Hobart, 7001, Australia

    J. E. J. Lovell, J. N. McCallum, P. B. Reid, P. M. McCulloch, B. E. Baynes, J. M. Dickey, S. S. Shabala & S. P. Ellingsen

  2. Surveying and Spatial Science Group, School of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 76, Hobart, 7001, Australia

    C. S. Watson

  3. Geoscience Australia, P.O. Box 378, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia

    O. Titov, R. Ruddick & R. Twilley

  4. International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA, 6845, Australia

    C. Reynolds, S. J. Tingay, J. S. Morgan & H. E. Bignall

  5. InterTronic Solutions Inc., 452, Aime-Vincent, Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec, J7V 5V5, Canada

    P. Shield

  6. Cobham Antenna Systems, SATCOM Land, 1551 College Park Business Center, Orlando, FL, 32804, USA

    R. Adada

Authors
  1. J. E. J. Lovell
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  2. J. N. McCallum
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  3. P. B. Reid
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  4. P. M. McCulloch
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  5. B. E. Baynes
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  6. J. M. Dickey
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  7. S. S. Shabala
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  8. C. S. Watson
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  9. O. Titov
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  10. R. Ruddick
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  11. R. Twilley
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  12. C. Reynolds
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  13. S. J. Tingay
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  14. P. Shield
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  15. R. Adada
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  16. S. P. Ellingsen
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  17. J. S. Morgan
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  18. H. E. Bignall
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to J. E. J. Lovell.

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Lovell, J.E.J., McCallum, J.N., Reid, P.B. et al. The AuScope geodetic VLBI array. J Geod 87, 527–538 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00190-013-0626-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00190-013-0626-3

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