ABSTRACT

Gravimetry is the measurement of the strength of a gravitational field.

Gravimetry may be used when either the magnitude of gravitational field or
the properties of matter responsible for its creation are of interest.
Gravity is usually measured in units of acceleration. In the SI system of
units,

the

standard

unit

of

acceleration

is

1 metre

per

second

squared (abbreviated as m/s2). Other units include the gal (sometimes known
as a galileo, in either case with symbol Gal), which equals 1 centimetre per
second squared, and the g (gn), equal to 9.80665 m/s2. The value of
the gnapproximately equals the acceleration due to gravity at the Earth's
surface (although the actual acceleration g varies fractionally from place to
place).

1. INTRODUCTION
`

An instrument used to measure gravity is known as a gravimeter, or

gravitometer. Since general relativity regards the effects of gravity as

indistinguishable from the effects of acceleration, one can regard gravimeters
as special-purposeaccelerometers. Many weighing scales may be regarded as
simple gravimeters. In one common form, a spring is used to counteract the
force of gravity pulling on an object. The change in length of the spring may be
calibrated to the force required to balance the gravitational pull. The resulting
measurement may be made in units of force (such as the newton), but is more
commonly made in units of gals.
Researchers use more sophisticated gravimeters when precise
measurements are needed. When measuring the Earth's gravitational field,
measurements are made to the precision of microgals to find density
variations in the rocks making up the Earth. Several types of gravimeters exist
for making these measurements, including some that are essentially refined
versions of the spring scale described above. These measurements are used to
define gravity anomalies.
Besides precision, stability is also an important property of a gravimeter,
as it allows the monitoring of gravity changes. These changes can be the result
of mass displacements inside the Earth, or of vertical movements of the Earth's
crust on which measurements are being made: remember that gravity
decreases 0.3 mGal for every metre of height. The study of gravity changes
belongs to geodynamics.
The majority of modern gravimeters use specially-designed metal
or quartz zero-length springs to support the test mass. Zero-length springs do
not follow Hooke's Law, instead they have a force proportional to their length.
The special property of these springs is that the natural resonant

period of oscillation of the spring-mass system can be made very long approaching a thousand seconds. This detunes the test mass from most local
vibration and mechanical noise, increasing the sensitivity and utility of the
gravimeter. Quartz and metal springs are chosen for different reasons; quartz
springs are less affected by magnetic and electric fields while metal springs
have a much lower drift (elongation) with time. The test mass is sealed in an
air-tight container so that tiny changes of barometric pressure from blowing
wind and other weather do not change the buoyancy of the test mass in air.
Spring gravimeters are, in practice, relative instruments which measure
the difference in gravity between different locations. A relative instrument also
requires calibration by comparing instrument readings taken at locations with
known complete or absolute values of gravity. Absolute gravimeters provide
such measurements by determining the gravitational acceleration of a test
mass in vacuum. A test mass is allowed to fall freely inside a vacuum chamber
and its position is measured with a laser interferometer and timed with an
atomic clock. The laser wavelength is known to 0.025 ppb and the clock is
stable to 0.03 ppb as well. Great care must be taken to minimize the effects
of perturbing forces such as residual air resistance (even in vacuum), vibration,
and magnetic forces. Such instruments are capable of an accuracy of about
two parts per billion or 0.002 mGal and reference their measurement to
atomic standards of length and time. Their primary use is for calibrating
relative instruments, monitoring crustal deformation, and in geophysical
studies requiring high accuracy and stability. However, absolute instruments
are somewhat larger and significantly more expensive than relative spring
gravimeters, and are thus relatively rare.
Gravimeters have been designed to mount in vehicles, including aircraft,
ships and submarines. These special gravimeters isolate acceleration from the

movement of the vehicle and subtract it from measurements. The acceleration

of the vehicles is often hundreds or thousands of times stronger than the
changes being measured.

2. GRAVIMETER
A gravimeter is an instrument used in gravimetry for measuring the local
gravitational field of the Earth. A gravimeter is a type of accelerometer,
specialized for measuring the constant downward acceleration of gravity,
which varies by about 0.5% over the surface of the Earth. Though the essential
principle of design is the same as in other accelerometers, gravimeters are
typically designed to be much more sensitive in order to measure very tiny
fractional changes within the Earth'sgravity of 1 g, caused by nearby geologic
structures or the shape of the Earth and by temporal tidal variations. This
sensitivity means that gravimeters are susceptible to extraneous vibrations
including noise that tend to cause oscillatory accelerations. In practice this is
counteracted by integral vibration isolation and signal processing. The
constraints on temporal resolution are usually less for gravimeters, so that
resolution can be increased by processing the output with a longer time
constant. Gravimeters display their measurements in units of gals (cm/s2),
instead of more common units of acceleration.
Gravimeters

are used for

petroleum and mineral prospecting,

seismology, geodesy,geophysical surveys and other geophysical research, and

for metrology.
There are two types of gravimeters: relative and absolute. Absolute
gravimeters measure the local gravity in absolute units, gals. Relative
gravimeters compare the value of gravity at one point with another. They must
be calibrated at a location where the gravity is known accurately, and then
transported to the location where the gravity is to be measured. They measure
the ratio of the gravity at the two points.

3. Types of Gravimeters
Modern land gravimeters are broadly classified into two types absolute and
relative.
3.1.

Absolute gravimeters

Absolute gravimeters, which nowadays are made compact so they too

can be used in the field, work by directly measuring the acceleration of a mass
during free fall in a vacuum, when the accelerometer is rigidly attached to the
ground.
The mass includes a retroreflector and terminates one arm of
a Michelson interferometer. By counting and timing the interference fringes,
the acceleration of the mass can be measured. A more recent development is
a "rise and fall" version that tosses the mass upward and measures both
upward and downward motion. This allows cancellation of somemeasurement
errors, however "rise and fall" gravimeters are not in common use. Absolute
gravimeters are used in the calibration of relative gravimeters, surveying for
gravity anomalies (voids), and for establishing the vertical control network.
3.1.1. Absolute Free-Fall Gravimeters
Absolute gravimeters measure the rate at which a mass in free fall in a
vacuum accelerates. A retroflector is used with a Michelson interferometer to
count and time interference fringes and thus measure the acceleration of the
mass.
The types of absolute free-fall gravimeters are:

Falling corner-cube gravimeter The motion of a free falling cornercube retroreflector in vacuum is monitored by a laser interferometer,
which detects optical interference to determine the rate of acceleration
of gravity. Corner-cube absolute free-fall gravimeters are one of the

most accurate types; however, their mechanical structure for repeated

free-falling is not not suitable for mobile use and restricts their cycle
time.

Atom interferometer gravimeter The acceleration of laser-cooled

particles due to gravity is determined by calculating the phase difference
of a wave packet of particles that is divided through a beamsplitter, with
each beam travelling along two different paths, one slightly more
elevated than the other and so experiencing slightly different gravity,
before being recombined. This technique benefits from high sensitivity
and accuracy, and fast cycle times. It is the most suitable gravimeter for
mobile use.

3.2.

Relative gravimeters

Most common relative gravimeters are spring-based. They are used in

gravity surveys over large areas for establishing the figure of the geoid over
those areas. A spring-based relative gravimeter is basically a weight on a
spring, and by measuring the amount by which the weight stretches the spring,
local gravity can be measured. However, the strength of the spring must
be calibrated by placing the instrument in a location with a known gravitational
acceleration.
The

most

accurate

relative

gravimeters

are superconducting

gravimeters, which operate by suspending a liquid helium cooled diamagnetic

superconducting niobium sphere in an extremely stable magnetic field; the
current required to generate the magnetic field that suspends the niobium
sphere is proportional to the strength of the Earth's gravitational field. The
superconducting gravimeter

achieves

sensitivities

of

one nanogal,

approximately one thousandth of one billionth (1012) of the Earth surface

gravity. In a demonstration of the sensitivity of the superconducting

gravimeter, Virtanen describes how an instrument at Metshovi, Finland,
detected the gradual increase in surface gravity as workmen cleared snow
from its laboratory roof.
Transportable relative gravimeters also exist; they employ an extremely
stable inertial platform to compensate for the masking effects of motion and
vibration, a difficult engineering feat. The first transportable relative
gravimeters were, reportedly, a secret military technology developed in the
1950-60s as a navigational aid for nuclear submarines. Subsequently in the
1980s, transportable relative gravimeters were reverse engineered by the
civilian sector for use on ship, then in air and finally satellite borne gravity
surveys.
3.2.1. Spring-Based Relative Gravimeters
Spring-based gravimeters measure only relative gravity by analysing the
response of a spring to an attached mass acting in a gravitational field. They
are often used in gravity surveys over large areas as they are compact,
transportable systems with good sensitivity and drift rate.
The types of spring-based gravimeters are:

Superconducting gravimeter Also known as the ideal-spring

gravimeter, superconducting gravimeters replace the spring with an a
ultralow temperature supercondcuting sphere held in place by an
induced magnetic field. The sphere is responsive to minute variations in
gravity. This type of gravimeter can achieve sensitivities of one nanogal,
one thousandth of one billionth (10-12) of the Earth surface gravity.

LaCoste-Romberg gravimeter A zero-length spring - one which has no

extension at zero initial force - suspends a mass in a gravitational field,

with the length of the spring directly proportional to the strength of the
force. This type of gravimeter has good sensitivity and is suitable for
mobile use, but it needs frequent recalibration.
3.3.

Understanding the Results

While a basic accelerometer displays measurements in common units of

acceleration, a gravimeter displays measurements in units known as gals,
where one gal is defined as 1 cm/s2. The measure of Earth's gravity at surface
level varies between 976 and 983 gals. These differences are due to mountains
and other land features that possess varying densities typically ranging from
tens to hundreds of milligals.

4. Principles of Gravimeters
The simplest way to present the physical principle of a (relative)
gravimeter is when a mass is suspended from a vertical spring and the
extension of the spring is expressed in the function of gravity changes
(see Fig.10).
For the two stations mg1=rl1 and mg2=rl2, where r is the elastic constant
of

spring

and l denotes

that

the

length

of

the

spring.

It

follows

, i.e. the change in gravity force between the

two stations is linearly proportional to the change in the length of the spring.
This stable type of gravimeter is based on Hookes law. We do not use stable
gravimeters in practice due to their low sensitivity. Because the change
changes to be
measured are very small, systems are applied to amplify the change in
gravitational acceleration.

Fig. 10: Simplified demonstration of the principle of gravity measurement

Fig. 11: Simplified demonstration of unstable gravimeter principle, after

Steiner (1988)
A gravimeter is simply a very precise weighing machine used to find the
weight of a certain lump of metal or other material at a series of stations
distributed over the area being surveyed. Since the weight of an object is its
response to the Earth's gravitational attraction, this weight will be slightly
affected by the nature of subsurface materials at the place of measurement. It
will be slightly larger, for example, at stations where the subsurface material is
of higher density or where dense material comes closer to the surface. The
changes in weight are so small that the weighing machine must be capable of
detecting changes of the order of one part in ten million.
Gravimeters must not only resolve small variations in the gravity field,
but must also remain stable over a large range of values and environmental
conditions. It is therefore required that practical instruments must be highly
precise, portable, robust, simple to use and relatively inexpensive. All gravity
meters have inherent limitations, however, and the particular equipment
deployed must be consistent with survey objectives. There are clear
distinctions between making absolute measurements of gravity and
measuring relative gravity, or variation from place to place.

There are two basic types of field portable relative gravimeters with
different

spring

balance

configurations.

These

are

known

as astatic or unstable, and stable types. The astatic gravimeters operate in a

state close to unstable equilibrium, which gives them great mechanical
sensitivity. The stable gravimeters are simpler in mechanical principles, but
require much higher precision of sensing of the position of the proof mass.
Gravimetric surveys for different applications may have different
requirements in respect of precision of measurement. This implies that there
may be scope for gravimeters with different performance specifications. We
may

designate

two

levels

of

performance

by

the

terms standardand microgravity. Manufacturers of gravimeters offer portable

relative gravimeters suited to each of these levels.
Instruments used for standard surveys are essentially mechanical
devices, using optical or electronic means for determination of the proof mass
position and manual or electrostatic restoration of the mass to its null
position. Portable land gravimeters manufactured and marketed between
1950 to 1989 incorporated this mode of operation. Instruments used for
microgravity surveys do not use springs because of the inherent limitations of
creep of the material (steel or quartz) used for fabricating the springs. The
most accurate relative gravimeters are superconducting gravimeters, which
operate by suspending a liquid helium cooled diamagnetic superconducting
niobium sphere in an extremely stable magnetic field. The current required to
generate the magnetic field that suspends the niobium sphere is proportional
to the strength of the Earth's gravitational field.
The superconducting gravimeter achieves sensitivities of one nanogal,
one thousandth of one billionth (10-12) of the Earth surface gravity.

Microgravity instruments incorporate extensive electronics in their

design for sensing of the proof mass position and its restoration to the null
position with great precision. The gravity signal is recorded and processed in
the solid state memory by embedded software. In these instruments,
corrections for tilt errors, for long term drift, for the temperature of the sensor
and for earth tides are applied in real time. These gravimeters communicate
through an RS-232 port with computers, printers and modems, for data
dumping, processing and presentation. All modern gravimeters employ an
extremely stable inertial platform to compensate for the masking effects of
motion and vibration, a difficult engineering feat.

5. SUPER CONDUCTING GARAVIMETER

A spherical superconducting mass is levitated using a magnetic force

that exactly balances the force of gravity. The superconducting property of
zero resistance allows the currents that produce the magnetic field to flow
forever

without

resistive

loss

as

long

they

are

kept

below

criticaltemperature. This explains the extreme stability of the sensor and hence
the name Superconducting Gravimeter (SG).
Other relative gravimeters and seismometers are based on a test mass
that is suspended by a spring attached to the instrument support. A change in
gravity or motion of the ground moves the test mass and this motion
generates a voltage that becomes the output signal (velocity or acceleration).
Even in a thermally well-regulated environment the mechanical aspects of a
spring suspension causes erratic drift that is difficult to remove by post
processing. The SG solves the drift problem by replacing the mechanical spring
with the levitation of a test mass using a magnetic suspension. The figure
(opposite top right) shows a diagram of the GSU; the three major
superconducting elements are the levitated mass (sphere), the field coils, and
the magnetic shield. The displacement transducer is formedby a capacitance
bridge that surrounds the sphere and is sealed with a partial pressure of
helium gas in a separate cavity inside the coils. The field is generated by two
niobium wire coils (superconducting below a temperature of 9.2 K) that carry,
in principle, perfectly stable and persistent superconducting currents to
provide an extremely stable magnetic field. The stability depends on the zero
resistance property of superconductors after the currents are trapped no
resistive (ohmic) loses are present to cause them to decay in time. The test
mass is a small 2.54 cm diameter sphere, also made of niobium, that weighs
about 5 grams. The coils are axially aligned; one just below the center of the
sphere and one displaced about 2.5 cm below the sphere. When current is

trapped in the coils, currents are induced on the surface of the sphere. As with
the currents in the coils, the induced currents are perfectly stable in the
absence of any ohmiclosses.
The levitation force is produced by the interaction between the
magnetic field from the coils and the currents induced on the surface of the
superconducting sphere. The figure below shows a schematic of the sphere,
coils, capacitance bridge, and magnetic flux lines induced on the surface of the
superconducting sphere.
The current in the coils can be precisely adjusted to balance the force of
gravity on the sphere at the center of the displacement transducer. The ratio
of currents in upper and lower coils is adjusted so that the magnetic force
gradient (spring constant) is very weak. As a result, a very small change in
gravity (acceleration) gives a large displacement of the test mass. This allows
for the instrument to achieve very high sensitivity.
Because the levitation is magnetic, changes in the Earths magnetic field
would seriously degrade its stability. A superconducting shield is used to
exclude the earths magnetic field from entering the space where the sensor is
housed.
To maintain superconductivity, the SG sensor operates in liquid helium
at 4 Degrees Kelvin inside a highly efficient vacuum insulated Dewar.
An OSG uses a 4 K refrigeration system that uses only 1.3 kW to
operate. The 4 K coldhead liquefies helium gas in the Dewar neck and
returns it to the Dewar storage volume.
The Dewar-Coldhead operate as a closed cycle system that can
operate indefinitely without the need for refilling. No Liquid Helium
refills are needed! New advances in the iGrav Dewar allow for cool
down from room temperature in a matter of days!

 At cryogenic temperatures all materials are extremely stable and the

sensor can be temperature regulated to a few micro-Kelvin. Therefore,
material creep and sensitivity to local temperature and humidity
changes are totally eliminated.

6. PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION AND INSTRUMENTATION

All gravimeters other than the early pendulum types and the absolute
meter, use the equivalent of a mass on a spring. The spring must provide an
upward force equal to the time averaged value of the downward force of
gravity. Small changes in gravity are measured through the extension of the
spring or the resulting changes of position of the mass relative to the support
structure.

FIG. 1. Diagram of the cryogenic portion of the superconducting gravimeter

Much of the work that has been done or is anticipated for the SG
requires measurement precision of at least 1 gal so that the upward force of
the spring must be stable to at least one part in 109. Mechanical spring type
gravimeters have not achieved this stability. The SG was conceived to make

use of the, in principle, perfect stability of superconducting persistent currents

to provide a perfectly stable magnetic suspension.

FIG. 2. Diagram of the dual sensor superconducting gravimeter developed and

produced by GWR Instruments. Extra coils are added to trim the null positions
of each sensor to provide the same tilt sensitivity.

The fundamental design of the gravimeter has not changed since it was
first reported in the Review of Scientific Instruments nearly 30 years ago.
However, modifications that have yielded improvements in performance were
actively developed and are continuing for commercially available instruments
at GWR Instruments. The design of the instrument is illustrated in Fig. 1. A
diagram of a recently developed dual sensor instrument is shown in Fig. 2.
A. Superconducting levitation
The basic element of the device is a superconducting sphere suspended
in the magnetic field gradient generated by a pair of superconducting coils with
persistent current switches. That is, the coils are shorted with a
superconducting shunt after a current is established so that the current is
permanently trapped as long as the superconductor remains at temperatures
below its critical temperature, Tc . The method for trapping the current is
standard for superconducting magnets. A voltage is applied to a heater to raise
the temperature of the shunt above Tc . Current is then applied to the coil to
generate the desired magnetic field. When the desired field is reached the
heater voltage is removed so that the shunt becomes superconducting. Then
the current from the external supply is reduced to zero and disconnected,
leaving the original current flowing in the coil and the shunt. In order to
minimize heat input that evaporates liquid helium, the current leads between
room temperature and liquid helium temperature are connected through a
plug located in the liquid helium. Once the current is trapped in the coils, the
leads are unplugged and removed from the cryostat. In practice, the precision
required for adjusting the currents is greater than can easily be achieved by
this simple procedure. Therefore short pulses are applied to the heaters with
the external current close to the desired value The levitation force is due to the

interaction between the inhomogeneous magnetic field from the coils and the
currents induced by it in the superconducting sphere. The effect does not
depend on the Meisner effect of superconductors in which magnetic field is
excluded from the interior of a superconductor even if it becomes
superconducting while in a magnetic field. Rather it depends only on the zero
resistance property of superconductors so that the Faraday induction law
guarantees that flux is excluded from inside of the sphere if a field is applied
after the sphere becomes superconducting.
The levitation force on the sphere is proportional to the product of the
field and the field gradient produced by the coils. Two coils, close to the
Helmholtz configuration along a vertical axis are used and the sphere is
levitated just above the plane of the upper coil. In this way the levitating force
and the force gradient can be adjusted independently so that with the sphere
levitated at its desired location, the restoring force for departures from that
position can be adjusted as close as desired to zero. This would be equivalent
to an infinitely long spring. In practice there is an optimal range for the force
gradient
Calibration
For some purposes, such as testing models of the interior of the earth
through measurements of the solid earth tides, it is essential to calibrate the
gravimeter accurately. The SG can be calibrated to an accuracy of about 1% by
applying a dc potential to the capacitor plates as described above but this is
not sufficient for present day work. There are three methods that are currently
used for the purpose. An accurately calculated gravity signal can be generated
by moving a known mass near the gravimeter over known distances, assuming

the validity of Newtons gravitation law, and assuming previously measured

values of the gravitation constant are correct. The gravimeter can be subjected
to an accurately determined acceleration.

7. Advantages and disadvantages of gravimetric method

Advantages of gravimetric analysis:

1.

It is accurate and precise when using modern analytical balance.

2.

Possible sources of error are readily checked since filtrates can be

tested for completeness of precipitation and precipitates may be
examined for the presence of impurities.

3.

It is an absolute method; it involves direct measurement without any

form of calibration being required.

4.

Determination can be carried out with relatively inexpensive

apparatus; the most expensive items are a muffle furnace and
sometimes platinum crucibles.

5.

Gravimetric analysis was used to determine the atomic masses of

many elements to six figure accuracy.

6.

Gravimetry provides very little room for instrumental error and does
not require a series of standards for calculation of an unknown.

Disadvantage of Gravimetric method:

1.

The chief disadvantage is that it requires meticulous time consuming.

2.

The chemist often prefers modern instrumental methods when they

can be used.

3.

Gravimetric analysis usually only provides for the analysis of a single

element, or a limited group of elements, at a time.

4.

Methods are often convoluted and a slight mis-step in a procedure can

often mean disaster for the analysis (colloid formation in precipitation
gravimetry, for example).

5.

Gravimetric analysis is based on the measurement of mass.

8. Applications

Hydrology

Volcano Monitoring

Oil, Gas or CO2 Monitoring

Geothermal Power Plants

Potential Natural Hazards

Global Ocean Tide Models

Post-Glacial Rebound

Subduction Induced Silent Earthquakes

Tides of the solid earth and studies of the deep interior of the earth

Influence of ocean tides

Gravity variations due to the atmosphere

The interior of the earth

Hydrology: Effects of rainfall

9. EXAMPLE OF A GRAVITY METER

Since its introduction in 1992, the FG5 has become the industry standard
in absolute gravity instrumentation. Based directly on international standards
of time and distance, the FG5 provides unparalleled accuracy and precision.
Whether applied in geophysical research, environmental monitoring, or
laboratory metrology, the FG5 is still the highest quality, most versatile
absolute gravimeter available today
9.1.

Principle of Operation

The FG5 operates by using a free-fall method. An object is dropped

inside a vacuum chamber and its position is monitored very accurately using a
laser interferometer. In 2004, the BIPM (Bureau International de Poids et
Mesures) proclaimed the ballistic freefall method as an official primary method
for measuring gravity. The free-fall trajectory of the dropped object is
referenced to a very stable activespring system called a Superspring. The

Superspring provides seismic-isolation for the reference optic to improve the

noise performance of the FG5. The optical fringes generated in the
interferometer provide a very accurate distance measurement system that can
be traced to absolute wavelength standards. Very accurate and precise timing
of the occurrence of these optical fringes is done using an atomic rubidium
clock that is also referenced to absolute standards. The measurement is
directly tied to international standards, and this is what makes the FG5 an
absolute gravimeter. By basing the measurement on these standards, the
system is inherently calibrated and will neither drift nor tare over time.
9.2.

Instrument features

Automatic data acquisition and system controller (Microsoft Windowsbased laptop PC)
Real-Time data processing automatic data storage
Optional environmental Monitoring Package: includes automatic logging
of barometric pressure, ambient temperature and other system
information
Real-time gravity corrections for tides, ocean loading, polar motion, and
atmospheric attraction
Superspring long period (30-60s) active isolation device
Built in collimation optics for verticality alignment
Drag-free chamber eliminates residual drag on freefall object
Frequency stabilized HeNe laser (Iodine stabilized HeNe laser option
available for highest accuracy applications)
Built in Rubidium atomic clock
Ion-vacuum pump with battery backup power supply
Custom-built shipping containers

9.3.

General Specifications

9.4.

Performance specification

9.5.

FG5 Applications

Geophysical Research
Vertical crustal motion detection
Complementary verification of displacements measured with GPS and
VLBI
Volcanic magma flow monitoring
Postglacial rebound studies
Uplift of subduction studies
Earthquake research
Long period tidal monitoring and earth inelasticity modeling

Environmental Monitoring
Water table monitoring in deep and/or multiple aquifers
Nuclear waste management and cleanup
Global sea level studies for global warming
Exploration and Resource Management
Oil exploration
Mineral exploration
Precision Measurements and Calibrations
Pressure transducer and load cell calibration
Redefinition of the kilogram in the SI system of units
Big G determinations and equivalence principle
Calibration of superconducting of other high precision relative gravity
meters
Inertial Navigation
Gravity reference station determinations
Relative gravity network control points
Establishing geodetic tie points for gravity networks
Defining the geoid

10. CONCLUSION

Measurement of absolute gravity is conceptually simple (recall the

anecdote of Newton discovering the law of gravitation by observing a falling
apple). However, accurate free-fall measurement of the acceleration of gravity
is technologically challenging.
To find buried oil reserves, surveyors have for decades used gravity
meters, or gravimeters, along with other instruments. Gravimeters are
hypersensitive versions of accelerometers: They measure extremely tiny
changes in the acceleration due to gravity. These nanoscale changes can
happen because of the presence of subterranean geological features like oil
wells

11.REFERENCES
1. "Operating

Principles

of

the

Superconducting

Gravity

Meter" (PDF). principles-of-operation. gwrinstruments. 2011.

2. Virtanen, H. (2006). Studies of earth dynamics with superconducting
gravimeter (PDF). Academic Dissertation at the University of Helsinki,
Geodetiska Institutet. Retrieved September 21, 2009.
3. http://www.microglacoste.com/pdf/Brochure-FG5.pdf
4. www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674984715301920