Experiment of Geopotential Measurement Using GNSS Single-Clock Transportation Method

Summary Traditional methods for measuring geopotential difference using optical fiber frequency transfer or satellite-based time-frequency transfer, based on general relativity, require the use of two clocks and the calibration of these clocks. Here we present a simplified clock transportation experiment using a single hydrogen clock to measure the geopotential difference between two time-frequency stations, separated by 129 km with a height difference of 1,245 m, by GNSS precise point positioning time-frequency transfer. Taking the reference clock of International GNSS Service (IGS) time as a ‘bridge’, we extract the gravity frequency shift between the two stations by comparing the fractional frequency differences between the hydrogen clock and the ‘bridge’ before and after clock transportation. The determined geopotential difference between the two stations is 12075.9±118.5 m²/s², which closely aligns with the value computed by the EIGEN-6C4 global gravity field model, with a difference of -78.7 m²/s². These results validate the feasibility of geopotential difference measurements with a single clock and highlight several advantages compared to the dual-clock method: elimination of inter-clock calibration, low operational complexity and equipment cost, high data utilization efficiency but similar precision of geopotential difference measurement. Furthermore, this method can be extended to other similar techniques to measure geopotential differences, provided that they enable users to connect to a stable time-frequency reference.