Ground-based optical atomic clocks as a tool to monitor vertical surface motion
Open accessAbstract
According to general relativity, a clock experiencing a shift in the gravitational potential ΔU will measure a frequency change given by Δf/f ≈ ΔU/c2. The best clocks are optical clocks. After about 7 hr of integration they reach stabilities of Δf/f ∼ 10−18 and can be used to detect changes in the gravitational potential that correspond to vertical displacements of the centimetre level. At this level of performance, ground-based atomic clock networks emerge as a tool that is complementary to existing technology for monitoring a wide range of geophysical processes by directly measuring changes in the gravitational potential. Vertical changes of the clock's position due to magmatic, post-seismic or tidal deformations can result in measurable variations in the clock tick rate. We illustrate the geopotential change arising due to an inflating magma chamber using the Mogi model and apply it to the Etna volcano. Its effect on an observer on the Earth's surface can be divided into two different terms: one purely due to uplift (free-air gradient) and one due to the redistribution of matter. Thus, with the centimetre-level precision of current clocks it is already possible to monitor volcanoes. The matter redistribution term is estimated to be 3 orders of magnitude smaller than the uplift term. Additionally, clocks can be compared over distances of thousands of kilometres over short periods of time, which improves our ability to monitor periodic effects with long wavelength like the solid Earth tide.
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These optical clocks can be used to explore geophysical phenomena, detect gravitational waves, test general relativity and search for dark matter.
“These optical clocks can further be used to explore geophysical phenomena 10 , detect gravitational waves 11 , test general relativity 12 and search for dark matter 13-17 .”
From Atomic clock performance enabling geodesy below the centimetre level (2018) · cites this paper as [10]
With optical clock performance at the levels demonstrated here, these clocks now enable beyond-state-of-the-art geodetic measurements and fundamental physics studies.
“With optical clock performance at the levels demonstrated here, these clocks now enable beyond-stateof-the-art geodetic measurements and fundamental physics studies 7,8,10,13,15 .”
From Atomic clock performance enabling geodesy below the centimetre level (2018) · cites this paper as [10]
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- Authors
- Bondarescu, R., Schärer, A., Lundgren, A., Hetényi, G., Houlié, N., Jetzer, P., & Bondarescu, M.
- Affiliations
- University of Zurich (CH)
- Max Planck Society (DE)
- ETH Zurich (CH)
- West University of Timişoara (RO)
- Corresponding author
- Bondarescu, Ruxandra
- Schärer, Andreas
- Jetzer, Philippe
- ORCID
- Venue
- Geophysical Journal International
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2015-07-16
- Volume
- 202
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 1770-1774
- ISSN
- 0956-540X (ISSN-L)
- 1365-246X
- OpenAlex
- W2119656486
- Cited by
- 56
- References
- 32
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 1
- FWCI
- 2.88
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Geophysical Journal International (publishedVersion)
- arXiv (Cornell University) (submittedVersion)
- reroDoc Digital Library (submittedVersion)
- MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Repository for Publications and Research Data (ETH Zurich) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- arXiv (Cornell University)
- ETH Zürich Research Collection
- Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics › Advanced Frequency and Time Standards
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Oceanography › Geophysics and Gravity Measurements
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Ocean Engineering › Geophysics and Sensor Technology
- Keywords
- optical atomic clocks, gravitational potential, volcano deformation, magma chamber inflation, Mogi model, Mount Etna, postseismic deformation, Earth tides, clock distribution
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