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Benefits and Pitfalls of GRACE Terrestrial Water Storage Data AssimilationSatellite observations of terrestrial water storage (TWS) from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission have a coarse resolution in time (monthly) and space (roughly 150,000 sq km at midlatitudes) and vertically integrate all water storage components over land, including soil moisture and groundwater. Nonetheless, data assimilation can be used to horizontally downscale and vertically partition GRACE-TWS observations. This presentation illustrates some of the benefits and drawbacks of assimilating TWS observations from GRACE into a land surface model over the continental United States and India. The assimilation scheme yields improved skill metrics for groundwater compared to the no-assimilation simulations. A smaller impact is seen for surface and root-zone soil moisture. Further, GRACE observes TWS depletion associated with anthropogenic groundwater extraction. Results from the assimilation emphasize the importance of representing anthropogenic processes in land surface modeling and data assimilation systems.
Document ID
20180002203
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Presentation
Authors
Girotto, Manuela
(Universities Space Research Association Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
April 6, 2018
Publication Date
March 26, 2018
Subject Category
Geosciences (General)
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN54578
Meeting Information
Meeting: Presentation at the Manhattan College, Civil and Environmental Engineering Dept.
Location: New York, NY
Country: United States
Start Date: March 26, 2018
Sponsors: NASA Headquarters
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNG11HP16A
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
Keywords
TWS
GRACE
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