GRACE Facing the Challenge of Extreme Spatial and Temporal Scales

Dear Colleagues,

Launched in 2002, the GRACE gravity satellite mission has revolutionized the way large mass changes can be detected on Earth. By monitoring the temporal variations of the Earth's gravity field with an unprecedented temporal and spatial resolution, GRACE has provided compelling scientific results on mass redistribution processes in the atmosphere, ocean, hydrosphere, cryosphere and lithosphere. As GRACE is the first satellite of its generation, data quality has significantly improved over the last 15 years, with a deeper understanding of the satellite dynamics and range rate data information content. However, there is still great potential to further exploit the mission’s scientific wealth by pushing the limits of the spatial and temporal scales observable by GRACE in order to resolve future scientific and societal challenges, e.g., identifying hot spots (glacier flow, aquifer storage changes) and hot moments (extreme events) and the investigation of the impact of climate variability and climate change. Wide potential to improve GRACE data is still possible. As example, the link between GRACE space-time integration (monthly, 200,000 km²) and its actual achievable resolution is still an open question. Further, the accurate estimation of low degree coefficients would drive to better constrain seasonal to long-term mass changes at global scale.

In this special issue, we invite geodesists and researchers in Earth Sciences to think together how such extreme—small and large—spatial and temporal scales could be further understood and captured, either by evolving GRACE data analysis techniques or by combining GRACE with other observation tools (whether geodetic: GNSS, InSAR, ground gravity—or alternate information, such as remote sensing or surface observations), models (land surface models, hydrological models) and/or mathematical methods (down and up-scaling, etc.). The objective is a better understanding of the potential and current limitations of gravity-based mission, such as GRACE, and how the design of future satellite missions could bring critical new insights into fluid and solid mass transport at the surface of the Earth.

Dr. Laurent Longuevergne
Dr. Annette Eicker
Dr. Wei Feng
Guest Editors

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