A Short Walk along the Gravimeters Path

Table 1

Field of application, accuracy target, type of instruments and their availability.

Application	Accuracy target	Instruments/availability
Isostasy	10^−5	Relative gravimeters (pendulum)/1817
Prospection for oil and gas	10^−6---10^−7	Relative gravimeters/1950
Structural geology	10^−6	Relative gravimeters/1950
Microgravity prospection	10^−8	Relative gravimeters/1980
Metrology (forces)	10^−6---10^−7	Absolute gravimeters/1980
Metrology (kilogram)	10^−8---10^−9	Absolute gravimeters/1990
Geodetic metrology	10^−8	Absolute gravimeters/1980
Geodesy	10^−7---10^−8	Rel + Abs gravimeters/1980
Earth tide and earth dynamic	10^−10---10^−11	Superconducting gravimeters/1970