GRACE Measurements of Mass Variability in the Earth System

Monthly gravity field estimates made by the twin Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites have a geoid height accuracy of 2 to 3 millimeters at a spatial resolution as small as 400 kilometers. The annual cycle in the geoid variations, up to 10 millimeters in some regions, peaked pr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2004-07, Vol.305 (5683), p.503-505
Main Authors: Tapley, Byron D., Bettadpur, Srinivas, Ries, John C., Thompson, Paul F., Watkins, Michael M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Artificial satellites
Atmospheric models
Climate
Data smoothing
Earth Science
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
Freshwater
Geographic Distribution
Geographic Location
Geoids
Gravitational fields
Gravity
Hydrologic analysis
Hydrological modeling
Hydrology
Hydrology. Hydrogeology
Internal geophysics
Mass
Meteorological satellites
Observations
Sine function
Solid-earth geophysics, tectonophysics, gravimetry
Storage
Surface water
Water
Watersheds
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Summary:Monthly gravity field estimates made by the twin Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites have a geoid height accuracy of 2 to 3 millimeters at a spatial resolution as small as 400 kilometers. The annual cycle in the geoid variations, up to 10 millimeters in some regions, peaked predominantly in the spring and fall seasons. Geoid variations observed over South America that can be largely attributed to surface water and groundwater changes show a clear separation between the large Amazon watershed and the smaller watersheds to the north. Such observations will help hydrologists to connect processes at traditional length scales (tens of kilometers or less) to those at regional and global scales.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1099192