A novel approach for the direct estimation of the instantaneous Earth rotation velocity

Context. Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) measures two standard observables: group delay and fringe frequency (delay rate). While group delay is widely used to estimate a broad range of geodetic and astrometric parameters, fringe frequency has, to date, been largely ignored. Here, we show that the fringe frequency is a unique tool for direct estimation of the instantaneous Earth angular rotation velocity, which is not accessible with the group delay alone. Aims. We estimate the magnitude of the Earth’s angular rotation velocity using a 30-year set of VLBI data and obtain daily estimates of X and Y angles linking the Instantaneous Rotation Pole (IRP) and the International Celestial Reference System (ICRS) pole. Methods. The plain least-squares method was applied to analyse the fringe frequency available from routine geodetic VLBI observations. Results. We estimate three components of the Earth rotation vector on a daily basis with a formal error of 1 prad/s or 10−8 in relative units, or better, if a large international VLBI network is at work. The newly obtained values can be used to monitor the Earth’s rotation irregularity in parallel to the traditional length-of-day (LOD) values and to directly assess the modern precession-nutation theory.