A pre-CHAMP/GRACE/GOCE geoid model (EGM96)

A pre-CHAMP/GRACE/GOCE geoid model (EGM96). The geoid (the surface of equal gravitational potential of a hypothetical ocean at rest) serves as the classical reference for all topographical features. The accuracy of its determination is important for surveying and geodesy, and in studies of Earth interior processes, ocean circulation, ice motion and sea-level change. GOCE measures high-accuracy gravity gradients and provide global models of Earth's gravity field and of the geoid.