The new reference gravity network in Italy

The Italian area is affected by on-going deformations and/or mass transfers, both of geophysical and human origin, which act on very different temporal scales and significantly modify the gravity field over time. The current Italian gravity database contains gravimetric measurements taken on land and sea by various research institutions and services. Data were acquired at very different epochs, with different instruments, some now obsolete and mostly lacking inter-comparison, and also with non-uniform operational procedures of data acquisition and analysis. Thus, these data are not homogeneous and do not represent an updated image of the Italian gravity field. This paper shows the main steps followed towards the realisation of a new reference network for absolute gravity in the Italian area. The choices are in line with the resolutions approved by the International Association of Geodesy during its 2015 general assembly. The goal is to update the existing absolute gravity network by adding gravity stations according to the new standards so as to align this infrastructure to the highest level of precision and accuracy. Based on this, an overall revision of the Italian gravity database will be possible, thus, leading to a better estimate of the gravity potential.