Validation of calibrated GOCE gravity gradients GRD_SPW_2 by least-squares spectral weighting

<p>The Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) was the first mission which carried a novel instrument, gradiometer, which allowed to measure the second-order directional derivatives of the gravitational potential or gravitational gradients with uniform quality and a near-global coverage. More than three years of the outstanding measurements resulted in two levels of data products (Level 1b and Level 2), six releases of global gravitational models (GGMs), and several grids of gravitational gradients (see, e.g., ESA-funded GOCE+ GeoExplore project or Space-wise GOCE products). The grids of gravitational gradients represent a step between gravitational gradients measured directly along the GOCE orbit and data directly from GGMs. One could use grids of gravitational gradients for geodetic as well as for geophysical applications. In this contribution, we are going to validate the official Level 2 product GRD_SPW_2 by terrestrial gravity disturbances and GNSS/levelling over two test areas located in Europe, namely in Norway and former Czechoslovakia (now Czechia and Slovakia). GRD_SPW_2 product contains all six gravity gradients at satellite altitude from the space-wise approach computed only from GOCE data for the available time span (r-2, r-4, and r-5) and provided on a 0.2 degree grid. A mathematical model based on a least-squares spectral weighting will be developed and the corresponding spectral weights will be presented for the validation of gravitational gradients grids. This model allows us to continue downward gravitational gradients grids to an irregular topographic surface (not to a mean sphere) and transform them into gravity disturbances and/or geoidal heights in one step. Before we compared results obtained by spectral downward continuation, we had to remove the high-frequency part of the gravitational signal from terrestrial data because in gravitational gradients measured at GOCE satellite altitude is attenuated. To do so we employ EGM2008 up to d/o 2160 and the residual terrain model correction (RTC) has been a) interpolated from ERTM2160 gravity model, b) synthesised from dV_ELL_Earth2014_5480_plusGRS80, c) calculated from a residual topographic model by forward modelling in the space domain.  </p>

Perceptual Weighting of Binaural Lateralization Cues across Frequency Bands

The auditory system uses interaural time and level differences (ITD and ILD) as cues to localize and lateralize sounds. The availability of ITDs and ILDs in the auditory system is limited by neural phase-locking and by the head size, respectively. Although the frequency-specific limitations are well known, the relative contribution of ITDs and ILDs in individual frequency bands in broadband stimuli is unknown. To determine these relative contributions, or spectral weights, listeners were asked to lateralize stimuli consisting of eleven simultaneously presented 1-ERB-wide noise bands centered between 442 and 5544 Hz and separated by 1-ERB-wide gaps. Either ITDs or ILDs were varied independently across each noise band, while fixing the other interaural disparity to either 0 dB or 0 μs. The weights were obtained using a multiple linear regression analysis. In a second experiment, the effect of auditory enhancement on the spectral weights was investigated. The enhancement of single noise bands was realized by presenting ten of the noise bands as preceding and following sounds (pre- and post-cursors, respectively). Listeners were asked to lateralize the stimuli as in the first experiment. Results show that in the absence of pre- and post-cursors, only the lowest or highest frequency band received highest weight for ITD and ILD, respectively. Auditory enhancement led to significantly enhanced weights given to the band without the pre- and post-cursor. The weight enhancement could only be observed at low frequencies, when determined with ITD cues and for low and high frequencies for ILDs. Hence, the auditory system seems to be able to change the spectral weighting of binaural information depending on the information content.

Quantifying EoR delay spectrum contamination from diffuse radio emission

ABSTRACT The 21 cm hyperfine transition of neutral hydrogen offers a promising probe of the large-scale structure of the universe before and during the Epoch of Reionization (EoR), when the first ionizing sources formed. Bright radio emission from foreground sources remains the biggest obstacle to detecting the faint 21 cm signal. However, the expected smoothness of foreground power leaves a clean window in Fourier space where the EoR signal can potentially be seen over thermal noise. Though the boundary of this window is well defined in principle, spectral structure in foreground sources, instrumental chromaticity, and choice of spectral weighting in analysis all affect how much foreground power spills over into the EoR window. In this paper, we run a suite of numerical simulations of wide-field visibility measurements, with a variety of diffuse foreground models and instrument configurations, and measure the extent of contaminated Fourier modes in the EoR window using a delay-transform approach to estimate power spectra. We also test these effects with a model of the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array (HERA) antenna beam generated from electromagnetic simulations, to take into account further chromatic effects in the real instrument. We find that foreground power spillover is dominated by the so-called pitchfork effect, in which diffuse foreground power is brightened near the horizon due to the shortening of baselines. As a result, the extent of contaminated modes in the EoR window is largely constant over time, except when the Galaxy is near the pointing centre.