2. Measurement principles

2.1 Geodetic acceleration measurement

Direct measurement of acceleration is very rare, and the sensor generally measures a secondary measurand (stress, strain, etc.) related to the acceleration, except for precise measurements of variations in the Earth's gravity field using a ballistic absolute gravimeter [1] . This type of accelerometer achieves a measurement sensitivity of 2 × 10 ^–6 Gal ≥ 2 × 10 ^–8 g .

Recent research has also led to the development of an atomic absolute gravimeter (LNE-SYRTE, ONERA) with a sensitivity of 10 ^–9 g . The...