A global Ocean Bottom Pressure data base as ground-truth reference for GRACE gravity field products

• Main Authors: Macrander, Annecke, Böning, Carmen, Boebel, Olaf, Schröter, Jens
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2006
• Subjects: Antarc*; Antarctic
• Online Access: https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/17704/; https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/17704/1/Mac2006l.pdf; https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.28127; https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.28127.d001

The GRACE satellite mission provides monthly estimates of the gravity field of the Earth. Differences between the monthly solutions are induced by mass redistribution on the Earth. Over the continents, the hydrological cycle represents the largest signals, which are readily observed by GRACE. Over the oceans, however, gravity field changes are about an order of magnitude smaller, close to the accuracy limits of the present GRACE solutions. Nevertheless, GRACE measurements may prove as an important tool to obtain integral estimates of water mass redistribution, sea level changes and geostrophic current variability. In order to validate and improve the gravity field products, GRACE is to be compared against ocean models and in-situ observations of Ocean Bottom Pressure (OBP). Time series of OBP sensors deployed by Alfred-Wegener-Institut in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, as well as measurements from other locations of the global ocean are included in a OBP database that is currently under development at AWI, in close cooperation with Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory (POL, Liverpool). The mutual comparison of in-situ and ocean model data with different GRACE products provided by CSR, GFZ, GRGS, ITG and JPL will help to optimize data processing methods and corrections applied to GRACE, and to identify the performance of GRACE to detect oceanic mass flux variability in different regions of the global ocean.