5/7/2015

NGA:EGM2008WGS84Version

NGA>ProductsandServices>OfficeofGeomatics>EarthGravitationalModel>EGM2008

EGM2008WGS84Version
Introduction
TheofficialEarthGravitational
ModelEGM2008hasbeenpublicly
releasedbytheU.S.National
GeospatialIntelligenceAgency
(NGA)EGMDevelopmentTeam.
Thisgravitationalmodelis
completetosphericalharmonic
degreeandorder2159,and
containsadditionalcoefficients
extendingtodegree2190and
order2159.Fullaccesstothe
model'scoefficientsandother
descriptivefileswithadditional
detailsaboutEGM2008are
providedherein.
ThosewishingtouseEGM2008to
computegeoidundulationvalues
withrespecttoWGS84,maydo
sousingtheselfcontainedsuiteof
coefficientfiles,FORTRANsoftware,andprecomputedgeoidgridsprovidedonthiswebpage.Forother
applications,thepreviousreleaseofthefull'Geoscience'packageforEGM2008canbeaccessedthrough
thelinkatthebottomofthiswebpage.
TheWGS84constantsusedtodefinethereferenceellipsoid,andtheassociatednormalgravityfield,to
whichthegeoidundulationsarereferencedare:
a=6378137.00m(semimajoraxisofWGS84ellipsoid)
f=1/298.257223563(flatteningofWGS84ellipsoid)
GM=3.986004418x1014m3s2(ProductoftheEarth'smassandtheGravitationalConstant)
=7292115x1011radians/sec(Earth'sangularvelocity)
Allsynthesissoftware,coefficients,andprecomputedgeoidgridslistedbelowassumeaTideFree
system,asfaraspermanenttideisconcerned.
Notethattheharmonicsynthesissoftwareprovidedbelowappliesaconstant,zerodegreetermof41cm
toallgeoidundulationscomputedusingEGM2008withtheheight_anomalytogeoid_undulation
correctionmodel(alsoprovided).Similarly,allprecomputedgeoidundulationsincorporatethisconstant
zerodegreeterm.Thistermconvertsgeoidundulationsthatareintrinsicallyreferencedtoanidealmean
earthellipsoidintoundulationsthatarereferencedtoWGS84.Thevalueof41cmderivesfromamean
earthellipsoidforwhichtheestimatedparametersintheTideFreesystemare:a=6378136.58mand
1/f=298.257686.
DescriptionofSoftwareandData
TocomputepointgeoidundulationsfromsphericalharmonicsynthesisoftheEGM2008TideFree
SphericalHarmonicCoefficientsanditsassociatedCorrectionModel,atanyWGS84latitude/longitude
coordinatepairlistedinacoordinateinputfile(suchasINPUT.DAT),usetheFORTRANharmonic
synthesisprogram,hsynth_WGS84.f.
Atpresent,wearealsoprovidingtwogridsofprecomputedgeoidundulations:oneat1x1minute
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resolutionandoneat2.5x2.5minuteresolution.Tointerpolategeoidundulationsfromthe1x1Minute
GeoidUndulationGridfile,foranyWGS84latitude/longitudecoordinatepairlistedinacoordinateinput
file(suchasINPUT.DAT),usetheFORTRANinterpolationprograminterp_1min.f.Similarly,the
FORTRANinterpolationprograminterp_2p5min.f,willinterpolategeoidundulationsfromthe2.5x2.5
MinuteGeoidUndulationGridfile.
Filenamescontaininga".gz"inthesuffixhavebeencompressedusingtheUnix"gzip"command.
AllfilesthatareSMALLENDIANformatarehighlightedingreen.AllfilesthatareBIGENDIANformatare
highlightedinpurple.
PleasecarefullyreviewtheREADME_WGS84fileforacompletedescriptionofcoefficientanddatafiles
forcomputingEGM2008geoidundulationswithrespecttoWGS84.Also,beforeusinganyofthedata
filesonthiswebpage,pleasereadthedisclaimer.
ForGISdataformats,pleasevisittheEGM2008GISDataPage.

SoftwareandCoefficientsforWGS84GeoidUndulationComputationsby
HarmonicSynthesis
EGM2008HarmonicSynthesisProgram(hsynth_WGS84.f184KB)UsethisFORTRANprogram
togenerateWGS84geoidundulationsbysphericalharmonicsynthesisofEGM2008andits
associatedheight_anomalytogeoid_undulationcorrectionmodel.Thisprogramrequiresthatthe
coefficientsforbothEGM2008andthecorrectionmodel,andanINPUT.DATfile,allbelocatedin
thesamedirectoryasthehsynth_WGS84.fprogram.
HarmonicSynthesisExecutableforWindowsXP(hsynth_WGS84.exe696KB)Windows
executableversionofEGM2008HarmonicSynthesisProgram.Useasdescribedabove.
SphericalHarmonicCoefficientsforEarth'sGravitationalPotential(TideFreeSystem)
(EGM2008_to2190_TideFree.gz72MB)EGM2008coefficientsrequiredbytheharmonic
synthesisprogram.
CorrectionCoefficients(ZetatoN_to2160_egm2008.gz50MB)Height_anomalyto
geoid_undulationcoefficientsrequiredbytheharmonicsynthesisprogram.
INPUT.DAT(4KB)sampleinputfileofWGS84latitude/longitudecoordinatepairsfortestingthe
harmonicsynthesisprogram.
OUTPUT.DAT(4KB)sampleoutputfileofgeoidundulationvalues,generatedbyreading
INPUT.DATintotheharmonicsynthesisprogram(fortestverification).
*UsersPleaseverifyresultsbycomparingtoOUTPUT.DATfileimmediatelyabove.

SoftwareandGridsforWGS84GeoidUndulationComputationby
Interpolation
*Note:The1x1minuteinterpolationprogrambelowrequiresalargePCRAMcapacity.
InterpolationProgramfor1x1MinuteGeoidGrid(interp_1min.f28KB)UsethisFORTRAN
programtointerpolategeoidundulationsfromthe1x1MinuteGeoidUndulationGridfile,forany
WGS84latitude/longitudecoordinatepairlistedinacoordinateinputfile(suchasINPUT.DAT).
Whenappliedtothe1x1MinuteGeoidUndulationGridfile,thisinterp_1min.fprogramwill
generategeoidundulationvaluesthatmatchthecorrespondingvaluesgeneratedbyharmonic
synthesis(hsynth_WGS84.forhsynth_WGS84.exeabove)towithin1mm.Theinterp_1min.f
programrequiresthatthe1x1MinuteGeoidUndulationGridfileandtheINPUT.DATarelocatedin
thesamedirectoryasinterp_1min.f.
1x1MinuteGridInterpolationExecutableforWindowsXP(interp_1min.exe434KB)Windows
executableversionoftheInterpolationProgramfor1x1MinuteGeoidGrid.Useasdescribed
above.TobeusedwiththeSMALLENDIANGeoidUndulationGridbelow.
1x1MinuteGeoidUndulationGridinWGS84SMALLENDIAN
(Und_min1x1_egm2008_isw=82_WGS84_TideFree_SE.gz825MB)1x1minuteglobalgridof
precomputedgeoidundulations.ThisfilehasaSMALLENDIANinternalbinaryrepresentation.
1x1MinuteGeoidUndulationGridinWGS84BIGENDIAN
(Und_min1x1_egm2008_isw=82_WGS84_TideFree.gz828MB)1x1minuteglobalgridofpre
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computedgeoidundulations.ThisfilehasaBIGENDIANinternalbinaryrepresentation.
INPUT.DAT(4KB)sampleinputfileofWGS84latitude/longitudecoordinatepairsfortestingthe
InterpolationProgramfor1x1MinuteGeoidGrid.
OUTPUT.DAT(4KB)sampleoutputfileofgeoidundulationvalues,generatedbyreading
INPUT.DATintotheInterpolationProgramfor1x1MinuteGeoidGridabove(fortestverification).
*UsersPleaseverifyresultsbycomparingtoOUTPUT.DATfileimmediatelyabove.
InterpolationProgramfor2.5x2.5MinuteGeoidGrid(interp_2p5min.f28KB)Usethis
FORTRANprogramtointerpolategeoidundulationsfromthe2.5x2.5MinuteGeoidUndulation
Gridfile,foranyWGS84latitude/longitudecoordinatepairlistedinacoordinateinputfile(suchas
INPUT.DAT).Whenappliedtothe2.5x2.5MinuteGeoidUndulationGridfile,thisinterp_2p5min.f
programwillgenerategeoidundulationvaluesthatmatchthecorrespondingvaluesgeneratedby
harmonicsynthesis(hsynth_WGS84.forhsynth_WGS84.exeabove)towithin1cm.The
interp_2p5min.fprogramrequiresthatthe2.5x2.5MinuteGeoidUndulationGridfileandthe
INPUT.DATarelocatedinthesamedirectoryasinterp_2p5min.f.
2.5x2.5MinuteInterpolationExecutableforWindowsXP(interp_2p5min.exe434KB)Windows
executableversionoftheInterpolationProgramfor2.5x2.5MinuteGeoidGrid.Useasdescribed
above.TobeusedwiththeSMALLENDIANGeoidUndulationGridbelow.
2.5x2.5MinuteGeoidUndulationGridinWGS84SMALLENDIAN
(Und_min2.5x2.5_egm2008_isw=82_WGS84_TideFree_SE.gz135MB)2.5x2.5minuteglobal
gridofprecomputedgeoidundulations.ThisfilehasaSMALLENDIANinternalbinary
representation.
2.5x2.5MinuteGeoidUndulationGridinWGS84BIGENDIAN
(Und_min2.5x2.5_egm2008_isw=82_WGS84_TideFree.gz135MB)2.5x2.5minuteglobalgrid
ofprecomputedgeoidundulations.ThisfilehasaBIGENDIANinternalbinaryrepresentation.
INPUT.DAT(4KB)sampleinputfileofWGS84latitude/longitudecoordinatepairsfortestingthe
InterpolationProgramfor2.5x2.5MinuteGeoidGrid.
OUTPUT.DAT(4KB)sampleoutputfileofgeoidundulationvalues,generatedbyreading
INPUT.DATintotheInterpolationProgramfor2.5x2.5MinuteGeoidGridabove(fortest
verification).
*UsersPleaseverifyresultsbycomparingtoOUTPUT.DATfileimmediatelyabove.

SoftwaretoExtractWGS84GeoidUndulationsfromGridFiles(No
Interpolation)
Extract1x1MinuteGridProgram(gridget_1min.f20KB)UsethisFORTRANprogramtoextract
auserdefinedsubrectangleofgeoidundulationsfromthe1x1MinuteGeoidUndulationGridfile.
Thisprogrampromptstheuserforarectangularareaofinterestandrequiresthe1x1MinuteGeoid
UndulationGridfiletobelocatedinthesamedirectoryasthegridget_1min.fprogram.
Extract1x1MinuteGridExecutableforWindowsXP(gridget_1min.exe401KB)Windows
executableversionoftheExtract1x1MinuteGridProgram.Useasdescribedabove.Tobeused
withtheSMALLENDIANGeoidUndulationGridbelow.
1x1MinuteGeoidUndulationGridinWGS84SMALLENDIAN
(Und_min1x1_egm2008_isw=82_WGS84_TideFree_SE.gz825MB)1x1minuteglobalgridof
precomputedgeoidundulations.ThisfilehasaSMALLENDIANinternalbinaryrepresentation.
1x1MinuteGeoidUndulationGridinWGS84BIGENDIAN
(Und_min1x1_egm2008_isw=82_WGS84_TideFree.gz828MB)1x1minuteglobalgridofpre
computedgeoidundulations.ThisfilehasaBIGENDIANinternalbinaryrepresentation.
Extract2.5x2.5MinuteGridProgram(gridget_2p5min.f20KB)UsethisFORTRANprogramto
extractauserdefinedsubrectangleofgeoidundulationsfromthe2.5x2.5MinuteGeoid
UndulationGridfile.Thisprogrampromptstheuserforarectangularareaofinterestandrequires
the2.5x2.5MinuteGeoidUndulationGridfiletobelocatedinthesamedirectoryasthe
gridget_2p5min.fprogram.
Extract2.5x2.5MinuteGridExecutableforWindowsXP(gridget_2p5min.exe397KB)Windows
executableversionoftheExtract2.5x2.5MinuteGridProgram.Useasdescribedabove.Tobe
usedwiththeSMALLENDIANGeoidUndulationGridbelow.
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2.5x2.5MinuteGeoidUndulationGridinWGS84SMALLENDIAN
(Und_min2.5x2.5_egm2008_isw=82_WGS84_TideFree_SE.gz135MB)2.5x2.5minuteglobal
gridofprecomputedgeoidundulations.ThisfilehasaSMALLENDIANinternalbinary
representation.
2.5x2.5MinuteGeoidUndulationGridinWGS84BIGENDIAN
(Und_min2.5x2.5_egm2008_isw=82_WGS84_TideFree.gz135MB)2.5x2.5minuteglobalgrid
ofprecomputedgeoidundulations.ThisfilehasaBIGENDIANinternalbinaryrepresentation.

AdditionalInformation
ThedevelopmentandevaluationoftheEarthGravitationalModel2008(EGM2008)NikolaosK.
Pavlis,SimonA.Holmes,SteveC.Kenyon,JohnK.FactorJournalofGeophysicalResearch:Solid
Earth(19782012)Volume117,IssueB4,April2012
EGM2008JGRErratum
OriginalReleaseoftheEGM2008ModelCoefficientsfromEGUGeneralAssembly,Vienna,Austria
2008:GeosciencePackage
AnEarthGravitationalModeltoDegree2160:EGM2008(NPavlis&al_EGU2008.ppt18.5MB)
Presentationgivenatthe2008EuropeanGeosciencesUnionGeneralAssemblyheldinVienna,
Austria,April1318,2008.
BackgroundPapersfromEarlierSymposiumsontheNewEGM
Pleaseprovidecomments,suggestions,andfeedbacktothecontactsbelowaswestriveto
improveourEGM2008products.Thankyou!
Dr.NikolaosPavlis
NGA,GeodesyandGeophysicsBasicandApplied
Research
wgs84@nga.mil
Nikolaos.K.Pavlis@nga.mil

NGAOfficeofGeomatics
(SN)
EGM2008Development
Team
wgs84@nga.mil

PointofContact:OfficeofGeomatics
phone(314)6769127,DSN8469127
wgs84@nga.mil

DocumentlastmodifiedApril29,2013
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