Abstract
We investigated two ‘gap-filler’ methods based on GPS-derived low-degree surface loading variations (GPS-I and GPS-C) and a more simple method (REF-S) which extends a seasonal harmonic variation into the expected Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission gap. We simulated two mission gaps in a reference solution (REF), which is derived from a joint inversion of GRACE (RL05) data, GPS-derived surface loading and simulated ocean bottom pressure. The GPS-I and GPS-C methods both have a new type of constraint applied to mitigate the lack of GPS station network coverage over the ocean. To obtain the GPS-C solution, the GPS-I method is adjusted such that it fits the reference solution better in a 1.5 year overlapping period outside of the gap. As can be expected, the GPS-I and GPS-C solutions contain larger errors compared to the reference solution, which is heavily constrained by GRACE. Within the simulated gaps, the GPS-C solution generally fits the reference solution better compared to the GPS-I method, both in terms of spherical harmonic loading coefficients and in terms of selected basin-averaged hydrological mass variations. Depending on the basin, the RMS-error of the water storage variations (scaled for leakage effects) ranges between 1.6 cm (Yukon) and 15.3 cm (Orinoco). In terms of noise level, the seasonal gap-filler method (REF-S) even outperforms the GPS-I and GPS-C methods, which are still affected by spatial aliasing problems. However, it must be noted that the REF-S method cannot be used beyond the study of simple harmonic seasonal variations.
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Acknowledgements
Financial support of this study has been provided by the German Research Foundation, under Grants KU1207/6-3, DI473/41-3, FL592/1-3, SCHR779/4-3, in the framework of the special priority program: SPP1257 ‘mass transport and mass distribution in the system Earth.’ We would like to thank the German Space Operations Center (GSOC) of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) for providing continuously and nearly 100 % of the raw telemetry data of the twin GRACE satellites. The helpful suggestions of Xiaoping Wu and an anonymous reviewer were highly appreciated.
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Rietbroek, R., Fritsche, M., Dahle, C. et al. Can GPS-Derived Surface Loading Bridge a GRACE Mission Gap?. Surv Geophys 35, 1267–1283 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10712-013-9276-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10712-013-9276-5