G020-01
GRACE-FO Science Results and Mission Status
Wednesday, 16 December 2020: 04:00
Virtual
Felix W Landerer1, Frank Michael Flechtner2, Himanshu Save3, Christopher M McCullough4, Tamara Bandikova5, Christoph Dahle6, Srinivas V Bettadpur3, Michael M Watkins1 and Robert Gaston7, (1)NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, United States, (2)GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam, Wessling, Germany, Potsdam, Germany, (3)Center for Space Research, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States, (4)Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States, (5)JPL/NASA/Caltech, Pasadena, CA, United States, (6)Helmholtz Centre Potsdam GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany, (7)Jet Propulsion Laboratory / California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, United States
Abstract:
The twin satellites of the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On (GRACE-FO) mission have collected more than 2.5 years of monthly gravity and mass change observations since mission launch in May 2018. The successful continuation of the 15-year GRACE (2002-2017) global data record is an indispensable tool to quantify and track Earth’s water movement and surface mass changes across the planet. Monitoring changes in ice sheets and glaciers, near-surface and underground water storage, the amount of water in large lakes and rivers, as well as changes in sea level and ocean currents provides an integrated global view of how Earth’s water cycle and energy balance are evolving.
In this presentation we will present the current mission status, including instrument and flight system performance (i.e., precise orbit determination, precise inter-satellite ranging from the K/Ka band and laser ranging interferometers, determination of the relative clock alignment of the Ultra Stable Oscillators (USO), precise attitude determination, and accelerometry as processed at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the official Level-1 data analysis center). Additionally, we also provide an update on the latest GRACE (2002-2017) Level-1 data reprocessing using the GRACE-FO software to ensure continued intermission consistency to extend the mass change climate data record.
We will discuss the GRACE-FO science data quality and performance, and highlight recent science results and discoveries such as high melt rates over Greenland, and new applications enabled by the highly accurate laser ranging interferometer on GRACE Follow-On.
