HR: 08:45h
AN: H21I-04 INVITED     [Abstracts]
TI: Observing the Ocean Water Cycle with GRACE
AU: * Chambers, D P
EM: chambers@csr.utexas.edu
AF: Center for Space Research, The University of Texas at Austin, 3925 W. Braker Lane, Suite 200, Austin, TX 78759 United States
AU: Nerem, R S
EM: nerem@colorado.edu
AF: CCAR and CIRES, The University of Colorado, Campus Box 431, Boulder, CO 80309 United States
AU: Wahr, J
EM: john.wahr@colorado.edu
AF: CIRES and Dept. of Physics, The University of Colorado, Campus Box 390, Boulder, CO 80309 United States
AB: Monthly estimates of the Earth's gravitational field from the GRACE mission are used to construct a time-series of global mean ocean mass variations between August 2002 and August 2004. We discuss the methods used to convert gravity coefficients into water mass variations, pointing out several important corrections. The GRACE observations show a clear seasonal exchange of water mass with the continents ( amplitude ~8.5 mm, phase maximum in early- to mid-October). The largest continental contributors to the ocean mass variability are discussed. Using two years of observations, we begin to examine interannual variability, with comments on observing trends in eustatic sea level change.
DE: 4556 Sea level variations
DE: 1655 Water cycles (1836)
DE: 1894 Instruments and techniques
DE: 1223 Ocean/Earth/atmosphere interactions (3339)
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting