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Evaluation of annual and semiannual total mass variation over the Mediterranean Sea from satellite data

  • S. I. Tanta-ISG 2018
  • Published:
Arabian Journal of Geosciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Satellite gravity missions represent an important contemporary source of data for both hydrological and oceanic studies. The present study assesses the seasonal variability of Mediterranean Sea level using temporal observations from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission. The GSM and GAD solutions from the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) were utilized together with equivalent water height of different basins to restore the signal over the eastern part of Mediterranean Sea and its surroundings. Twelve points were selected (i.e., 8 points on land and 4 points within the Mediterranean Sea) to extract time series of terrestrial water storage (TWS) over the Eastern Mediterranean. Significant regional TWS variability on land is correlated to continuous charging and discharging of water supply from river basins in the northern Mediterranean. On the other hand, less significant TWS variations were reported from the southern Mediterranean, where arid/hyper-arid desert conditions are prevailing. Findings obtained from points within the Mediterranean Sea indicated that the middle part of the Mediterranean Sea is affected by strong oceanic currents and the seawater mass variation has a larger annual and semiannual amplitude compared to that obtained over the coastal areas. These findings demonstrate that satellite gravity can be an essential tool for regional hydrological assessment under complex climatic settings.

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Acknowledgements

The present work has been conducted in cooperation with Physical and Satellite Geodesy Institute (PSGD), TU-Darmstadt, Germany. We thank the editor and reviewers for their instructive comments and suggestions, and our colleagues from Geodynamic Department, National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics (NRIAG), Egypt.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics, Helwan, Egypt

    Nadia AbouAly, Karem Abdelmohsen, Abdel-Monem S. Mohamed, Mohamed Saleh & Khaled H. Zahran

  2. Geological and Environmental Sciences, Western Michigan University, 1903 W. Michigan Ave, Kalamazoo, MI, 49008, USA

    Karem Abdelmohsen & Abotalib Z. Abotalib

  3. Institute of Physical Geodesy, Technical University, Darmstadt, Germany

    Matthias Becker

  4. Division of Geological Applications and mineral Resources, National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences, Cairo, 1564, Egypt

    Abotalib Z. Abotalib

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  1. Nadia AbouAly
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  2. Karem Abdelmohsen
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  4. Abdel-Monem S. Mohamed
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  5. Abotalib Z. Abotalib
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Correspondence to Nadia AbouAly.

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Responsible Editor: Zakaria Hamimi

This article is part of the Topical Collection on Advances of Geophysical and Geological Prospection for Natural Resources in Egypt and the Middle East

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AbouAly, N., Abdelmohsen, K., Becker, M. et al. Evaluation of annual and semiannual total mass variation over the Mediterranean Sea from satellite data. Arab J Geosci 14, 887 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-021-07190-4

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