Evaluation of New GRACE Time-variable Gravity Data over the Ocean

Authors

Don P. Chambers, University of Texas at AustinFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-2006

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1029/2006GL027296

Abstract

Monthly GRACE gravity field models from the three science processing centers (CSR, GFZ, and JPL) are analyzed for the period from February 2003 to April 2005 over the ocean. The data are used to estimate maps of the mass component of sea level at smoothing radii of 500 km and 750 km. In addition to using new gravity field models, a filter has been applied to estimate and remove systematic errors in the coefficients that cause erroneous patterns in the maps of equivalent water level. The filter is described and its effects are discussed. The GRACE maps have been evaluated using a residual analysis with maps of altimeter sea level from Jason‐1 corrected for steric variations using the World Ocean Atlas 2001 monthly climatology. The mean uncertainty of GRACE maps determined from an average of data from all 3 processing centers is estimated to be less than 1.8 cm RMS at 750 km smoothing and 2.4 cm at 500 km smoothing, which is better than was found previously using the first generation GRACE gravity fields.

Rights Information

Terms of use for work posted in Scholar Commons.

Was this content written or created while at USF?

No

Citation / Publisher Attribution

Geophysical Research Letters, v. 33, issue 17, art. L17603

Copyright 2006 by the American Geophysical Union.

Scholar Commons Citation

Chambers, Don P., "Evaluation of New GRACE Time-variable Gravity Data over the Ocean" (2006). Marine Science Faculty Publications. 181.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/msc_facpub/181