Computation of the Height Reference Surface for the Territory of the Republic of Albania

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to determine a high-precision the Republic of Albania geoid model in order to convert the ellipsoidal heights into orthometric heights. The Digital Finite-Element Height Reference Surface method was used to solve this problem. The following models were chosen as the Republic of Albania global geopotential models: EGM96, EGG97 and EGM2008. Calculations of mentioned models were performed for 151 points of the Republic of Albania territory using the Digital Finite-Element Height Reference Surface method to determine the height reference surface. The minimum, maximum, mean values, standard deviation and mean quadratic error of the models in question were identified. The results showed that EGM96 had a standard deviation of 8 cm, EGG97 had a standard deviation of 4.8 cm and EGM2008 had a standard deviation of 4.2 cm as the best model. Thus, it was proved that EGM2008 has topographic distribution and fits well in the extension of the territory of the Republic of Albania.