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Behrend, Dirk

Publications and source records attributed to Behrend, Dirk.

International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry 2017+2018 Biennial Report

Since its creation in 1999, the International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry (IVS) has documented its progress and current status in the form of annual or biennial reports. The first sixteen years were recorded in the form of annual reports, while starting with the years 2015+2016 the rhythm was changed to two years. Hence, the 2017+2018 Biennial Report constitutes the second installment of the two-yearly reporting scheme, documenting the work of the IVS components for the calendar years 2017 and 2018. As a testament to its usefulness, the general structure of the reporting has remained stable over the years: the individual components of the IVS contributed short reports describing their numerous activities, progress, and future plans. Without the continued input from the VLBI groups of the international geodetic and astrometric community, this publication could not be compiled and the IVS itself would not be able to flourish. So, once again many thanks to all IVS components who contributed to this Biennial Report.

Armstrong, Kyla L.

International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry 2014 Annual Report

IVS is an international collaboration of organizations which operate or support Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) components. The goals are: 1. To provide a service to support geodetic, geophysical and astrometric research and operational activities. 2. To promote research and development activities in all aspects of the geodetic and astrometric VLBI technique. 3. To interact with the community of users of VLBI products and to integrate VLBI into a global Earth observing system.

Geodesy and Astrometry

International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry 2013 Annual Report

This volume of reports is the 2013 Annual Report of the International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry (IVS). The individual reports were contributed by VLBI groups in the international geodetic and astrometric community who constitute the permanent components of IVS. The IVS 2013 Annual Report documents the work of the IVS components for the calendar year 2013, our fifteenth year of existence. The reports describe changes, activities, and progress of the IVS. Many thanks to all IVS components who contributed to this Annual Report. With the exception of the first section and the last section, the contents of this Annual Report also appear on the IVS Web site at http://ivscc.gsfc.nasa.gov/publications/ar2013.

VLBI

International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry 2012 Annual Report

This volume of reports is the 2012 Annual Report of the International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry (IVS). The individual reports were contributed by VLBI groups in the international geodetic and astrometric community who constitute the permanent components of IVS. The IVS 2012 Annual Report documents the work of the IVS components for the calendar year 2012, our fourteenth year of existence. The reports describe changes, activities, and progress ofthe IVS. Many thanks to all IVS components who contributed to this Annual Report. With the exception of the first section and parts of the last section (described below), the contents of this Annual Report also appear on the IVS Web site athttp:ivscc.gsfc.nasa.gov/publications/ar2012

VLBI

Coordinating Center Report

This report summarizes the activities of the IVS Coordinating Center during the year 2012 and forecasts activities planned for the year 2013.

Behrend, Dirk

VLBI: A Fascinating Technique for Geodesy and Astrometry

Since the 1970s Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) has proven to be a primary space-geodetic technique by determining precise coordinates on the Earth, by monitoring the variable Earth rotation and orientation with highest precision, and by deriving many other parameters of the Earth system. VLBI provides an important linkage to astronomy through, for instance, the determination of very precise coordinates of extragalactic radio sources. Additionally, it contributes to determining parameters of relativistic and cosmological models. After a short review of the history of geodetic VLBI and a summary of recent results, this paper describes future perspectives of this fascinating technique. The International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry (IVS), as a service of the International Association of Geodesy (IAG) and the International Astronomical Union (IAU), is well on its way to fully defining a next generation VLBI system, called VLBI2010. The goals of the new system are to achieve on scales up to the size of the Earth an accuracy of 1 mm in position and of 0.1 mm/year in velocity. Continuous observations shall be carried out 24 h per day 7 days per week in the future with initial results to be delivered within 24 h after taking the data. Special sessions, e.g. for monitoring the Earth rotation parameters, will provide the results in near real-time. These goals require a completely new technical and conceptual design of VLBI measurements. Based on extensive simulation studies, strategies have been developed by the IVS to significantly improve its product accuracy through the use of a network of small (approx 12 m) fast-slewing antennas. A new method for generating high precision delay measurements as well as improved methods for handling biases related to radio source structure, system electronics, and deformations of the antenna structures has been developed. Furthermore, as of January 2012, the construction of ten new VLBI2010 sites has been funded, with good prospects for one dozen more antennas, which will improve the geographical distribution of geodetic VLBI sites on Earth and provide an important step toward a global VLBI2010 network. Within this paper, the Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS) of the IAG will also be introduced and the contribution of VLBI to GGOS will be described.

Geodesy

International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry 2011 Annual Report

This volume of reports is the 2011 Annual Report of the International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry (IVS). The individual reports were contributed by VLBI groups in the international geodetic and astrometric community who constitute the components of IVS. The 2011 Annual Report documents the work of these IVS components over the period January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2011. The reports document changes, activities, and progress of the IVS. The entire contents of this Annual Report also appear on the IVS Web site at http://ivscc.gsfc.nasa.gov/publications/ar2011.

Baver, Karen D.

Proceedings of the Sixth General Meeting of the International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry

This volume is the proceedings of the sixth General Meeting of the International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry (IVS), held in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, February 7-13, 2010. The contents of this volume also appear on the IVS Web site at http://ivscc.gsfc.nasa.gov/publications/gm2010. The keynote of the sixth GM was the new perspectives of the next generation VLBI system under the theme "VLBI2010: From Vision to Reality". The goal of the meeting was to provide an interesting and informative program for a wide cross-section of IVS members, including station operators, program managers, and analysts. This volume contains 88 papers. All papers were edited by the editors for usage of the English language, form, and minor content-related issues.

Behrend, Dirk

The Composition of the Master Schedule

Over a period of about four months, the IVS Coordinating Center (IVSCC) each year composes the Master Schedule for the IVS observing program of the next calendar year. The process begins in early July when the IVSCC contacts the IVS Network Stations to request information about available station time as well as holiday and maintenance schedules for the upcoming year. Going through various planning stages and a review process with the IVS Observing Program Committee (OPC), the final version of the Master Schedule is posted by early November. We describe the general steps of the composition and illustrate them with the example of the planning for the Master Schedule of the 2010 observing year.

Thomas, Cynthia C.

Coordinating, Scheduling, Processing and Analyzing IYA09

The IVS scheduled a special astrometric VLBI session for the International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA09) commemorating 400 years of optical astronomy and 40 years of VLBI. The IYA09 session is the most ambitious geodetic session to date in terms of network size, number of sources, and number of observations. We describe the process of designing, coordinating, scheduling, pre-session station checkout, correlating, and analyzing this session.

Gipson, John

CRF Network Simulations for the South

In order to monitor and improve the CRF in both the Southern Hemisphere and along the ecliptic, we perform various simulations using station networks based mostly on the Australian AuScope network, New Zealand s Warkworth antenna, and several Chinese antennas. The effect of other stations such as HartRAO and Kokee Park to enhance the East-West baseline coverage is also considered. It is anticipated that the simulation results will help IVS to decide on the composition of the CRF sessions of the IVS to be run from 2011 onward.

Titov, Oleg

Proof-of-Concept Studies for a Local Tie Monitoring System

We present preliminary results of proof-of-concept studies for an automatic monitoring system of local site ties. The system is based on the usage of robotic total stations. A set of tests were performed with a Leica TCA2003 total station on the local network of Goddard s Geophysical and Astronomical Observatory (GGAO) and the 5-m VLBI antenna at this site. Both the TCA2003 and the VLBI antenna are controlled from a Matlab-coded control program. Running specific observational programs, data were collected that indicate that the reference point of the VLBI antenna can be automatically determined with an accuracy of 1 mm or better.

Schmeing, Benno

International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry 2008 Annual Report

This volume of reports is the 2008 Annual Report of the International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry (IVS). The individual reports were contributed by VLBI groups in the international geodetic and astrometric community who constitute the components of IVS. The 2008 Annual Report documents the work of these IVS components over the period January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2008. The reports document changes, activities, and progress of the IVS. The entire contents of this Annual Report also appear on the IVS Web site at http://ivscc.gsfc.nasa.gov/publications/ar2008.

Behrend, Dirk

Design Aspects of the VLBI2010 System - Progress Report of the IVS VLBI2010 Committee

This report summarizes the progress made in developing the next generation VLBI system, dubbed the VLBI2010 system. The VLBI2010 Committee of the International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry (IVS) worked on the design aspects of the new system. The report covers Monte Carlo simulations showing the impact of the new operating modes on the final products. A section on system considerations describes the implications for the VLBI2010 system parameters by considering the new modes and system-related issues such as sensitivity, antenna slew rate, delay measurement error. RF1, frequency requirements, antenna deformation, and source structure corrections_ This is followed by a description of all major subsystems and recommendations for the network, station. and antenna. Then aspects of the feed, polarization processing. calibration, digital back end, and correlator subsystems are covered. A section is dedicated to the NASA. proof-of-concept demonstration. Finally, sections tm operational considerations, on risks and fallback options, and on the next steps complete the report.

Petrachenko, Bill

International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry 2005 Annual Report

This volume of reports is the 2005 Annual Report of the International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry (IVS). The individual reports were contributed by VLBI groups in the international geodetic and astrometric community who constitute the components of IVS. The 2005 Annual Report documents the work of these IVS components over the period January 1, 2005 through December 31, 2005. The reports document changes, activities, and progress of the IVS. The entire contents of this Annual Report also appear on the IVS Web site at http://ivscc.gsfc.nasa.gov/publications/ar2005.

Behrend, Dirk

International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry 2004 Annual Report

Contents include the following: Combination Studies using the Cont02 Campaign. Coordinating Center report. Analysis coordinator report. Network coordinator report. IVS Technology coordinator report. Algonquin Radio observatory. Fortaleza Station report for 2004. Gilmore Creek Geophysical Observatory. Goddard Geophysical and Astronomical observatory. Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO). Hbart, Mt Pleasant, station report for 2004. Kashima 34m Radio Telescope. Kashima and Koganei 11-m VLBI Stations. Kokee Park Geophysical Observatory. Matera GGS VLBI Station. The Medicina Station status report. Report of the Mizusawa 10m Telescope. Noto Station Activity. NYAL Ny-Alesund 20 metre Antenna. German Antarctic receiving Station (GARS) O'higgins. The IVS network station Onsala space Observatory. Sheshan VLBI Station report for 2004. 10 Years of Geodetic Experiments at the Simeiz VLBI Station. Svetloe RAdio Astronomical Observatory. JARE Syowa Station 11-m Antenna, Antarctica. Geodetic Observatory TIGO in Concepcion. Tsukuba 32-m VLBI Station. Nanshan VLBI Station Report. Westford Antenna. Fundamental-station Wettzell 20m Radiotelescope. Observatorio Astroonomico Nacional Yebes. Yellowknife Observatory. The Bonn Geodetic VLBI Operation Center. CORE Operation Center Report. U.S. Naval Observatory Operation Center. The Bonn Astro/Geo Mark IV Correlator.

Behrend, Dirk