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Science and User Needs for Observing Global Mass Transport to Understand Global Change and to Benefit Society

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Abstract

Satellite gravimetry is a unique measurement technique for observing mass transport processes in the Earth system on a global scale, providing essential indicators of both subtle and dramatic global change. Although past and current satellite gravity missions have achieved spectacular science results, due to their limited spatial and temporal resolution as well as limited length of the available time series numerous important questions are still unresolved. Therefore, it is important to move from current demonstration capabilities to sustained observation of the Earth’s gravity field. In an international initiative performed under the umbrella of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics, consensus on the science and user needs for a future satellite gravity observing system has been derived by an international panel of scientists representing the main fields of application, i.e., continental hydrology, cryosphere, ocean, atmosphere and solid Earth. In this paper the main results and findings of this initiative are summarized. The required target performance in terms of equivalent water height has been identified as 5 cm for monthly fields and 0.5 cm/year for long-term trends at a spatial resolution of 150 km. The benefits to meet the main scientific and societal objectives are investigated, and the added value is demonstrated for selected case studies covering the main fields of application. The resulting consolidated view on the required performance of a future sustained satellite gravity observing system represents a solid basis for the definition of technological and mission requirements, and is a prerequisite for mission design studies of future mission concepts and constellations.

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Acknowledgments

The contributions by more than 70 international scientists to this project initiative is highly acknowledged. We also acknowledge the valuable comments of two anonymous reviewers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Astronomical and Physical Geodesy, Technische Universität München, Arcisstraße 21, 80333, Munich, Germany

    Roland Pail

  2. Bristol Glaciology Centre, School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK

    Rory Bingham & Bert Wouters

  3. Dipartimento di Matematica e Geoscienze, Universita’ degli Studi di Trieste, via Weiss 1, Palazzina C, 34127, Trieste, Italy

    Carla Braitenberg

  4. Deutsches Geoforschungszentrum GFZ, Telegrafenberg, 14473, Potsdam, Germany

    Henryk Dobslaw & Andreas Güntner

  5. Institute of Geodesy and Geoinformation, University of Bonn, Nussallee 17, 53115, Bonn, Germany

    Annette Eicker

  6. Institut für Planetare Geodäsie, Technische Universität Dresden, Helmholtzstraße 10, 01069, Dresden, Germany

    Martin Horwath

  7. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, M/S 300-233, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA, 91109, USA

    Eric Ivins

  8. Géosciences Rennes - UMR 6118, Université Rennes 1, Campus Beaulieu, 35042, Rennes Cedex, France

    Laurent Longuevergne

  9. Laboratoire de Recherche en Géodésie, Institut Géographique National, 6-8, av. Blaise Pascal, 77455, Marne la Vallée Cedex 2, France

    Isabelle Panet

  10. Department of Physics, University of Colorado at Boulder, 390 UCB, Boulder, CO, 80309-0390, USA

    Bert Wouters

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  1. Roland Pail
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IUGG Expert Panel

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Roland Pail.

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The names of members of the IUGG Expert Panel are given in Appendix 2

Appendices

Appendix 1

Table 7 presents the relations between geoid height differences, gravity anomalies, vertical gravity gradients (in milliEötvös, mE) and equivalent water heights (EWH) for different spatial resolutions and spherical harmonic (SH) degrees.

Table 7 Conversion between cumulative geoid heights in mm, gravity anomalies in μGal, gravity gradients in mE and total water storage in cm EWH depending on the spatial resolution in km (from Murböck 2015)
Full size table

Appendix 2

IUGG Expert Panel comprises: Gianpaolo Balsamo, Melanie Becker, Decharme Bertrand, John D. Bolten, Jean-Paul Boy, Michiel van den Broeke, Anny Cazenave, Don Chambers, Tonie van Dam, Michel Diament, Albert van Dijk, Petra Döll, Jörg Ebbing, James Famiglietti, Wei Feng, Rene Forsberg, Nick van de Giesen, Marianne Greff, Jun-Yi Guo, Shin-Chan Han, Edward Hanna, Kosuke Heki, György Hetényi, Steven Jayne, Weiping Jiang, Shuanggen Jin, Georg Kaser, Matt King, Armin Köhl, Harald Kunstmann, Jürgen Kusche, Thorne Lay, Anno Löcher, Scott Luthcke, Marta Marcos, Mark van der Meijde, Valentin Mikhailov, Christian Ohlwein, Fred Pollitz, Yadu Pokhrel, Rui Ponte, Matt Rodell, Cecilie Rolstad-Denby, Himanshu Save, Bridget Scanlon, Sonia Seneviratne, Frederique Seyler, Andrew Shepherd, Tony Song, Wim Spakman, C.K. Shum, Holger Steffen, Wenke Sun, Qiuhong Tang, Virendra Tiwari, Isabella Velicogna, John Wahr, Wouter van der Wal, Lei Wang, Hua Xie, Hsien-Chi Yeh, Pat Yeh, Ben Zaitchik, Victor Zlotnicki.

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Pail, R., Bingham, R., Braitenberg, C. et al. Science and User Needs for Observing Global Mass Transport to Understand Global Change and to Benefit Society. Surv Geophys 36, 743–772 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10712-015-9348-9

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