Exploring potential applications of optical lattice clocks in a plate subduction zone

Abstract

AbstractOptical clocks improved the accuracy of state-of-the-art cesium clocks by more than two orders of magnitude and enabled frequency comparison with a fractional uncertainty of one part in 1018. Gravitational redshift of two such clocks allows determining their height difference with an uncertainty of 1 cm. In Europe, chronometric leveling has been extensively conducted for unifying the height reference systems. Temporal response of the leveling, which affords monitoring a cm height variation within hours of averaging time, may offer new opportunities to explore seismology and volcanology. Superb stability of optical lattice clocks will be best used for such applications. This article outlines the prospects of chronometric leveling in Japan. Combining optical lattice clocks with an existing observation network of GNSS, crustal deformations may be monitored with unprecedented accuracy in the future.