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EGM96 is a geopotential model of the Earth consisting of spherical harmonic coefficients complete to degree and order 360. It is a composite solution, consisting of: (1) a combination solution to degree and order 70; (2) a block diagonal solution from degree 171 to 621; and (3) the quadrature solution at degree 360. This model is the result of a collaboration between the National Imagery and Mapping Agency, the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, and Ohio State University.

The joint project took advantage of new surface gravity data from many different regions of the globe, including data newly released from the NIMA archives. Major terrestrial gravity acquistions by NIMA since 1992 include airborne gravity surveys over Greenland and parts of the Arctic and the Antarctic, surveyed by the Naval Research Lab (NRL), and cooperative gravity collection projects, several which were undertaken with the University of Leeds. These collection efforts have improved the data holdings over many of the world's land areas, including Africa, Canada, parts of South America and Africa, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, and the former Soviet Union. In addition, there have been major efforts so improve NIMA's existing 30' mean anomaly database through contributions over various countries in Asia.

NIMA also computed and made available 30'×30' mean altimeter derived gravity anomalies from the GEOSAT Geodetic Mission. EGM96 also included altimeter derived anomalies derived from ERS-1 by Kort and Lane (KMS), (National Survey and Cadastre, Denmark) over portions of the Arctic, and the Antarctic, as well as the altimeter derived anomalies of Schoene [1996] over the Weddell Sea. The statistics of the final merged set of surface gravity data used in EGM96 are summarized in the table below.

PGM2000A is an EGM96 derivative model that incorporates normal equations for the dynamic ocean topography implied by the POCM4B ocean circulation model.

• EU89
• NAD83
• ETRS89
• WGS84

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