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Assimilation of GRACE Terrestrial Water Storage Data into a Land Surface Model: Results for the Mississippi River BasinNASA's GRACE mission has the potential to be extremely valuable for water resources applications and global water cycle research. What makes GRACE unique among Earth Science satellite systems is that it is able to monitor variations in water stored in all forms, from snow and surface water to soil moisture to groundwater in the deepest aquifers. However, the space and time resolutions of GRACE observations are coarse. GRACE typically resolves water storage changes over regions the size of Nebraska on a monthly basis, while city-scale, daily observations would be more useful for water management, agriculture, and weather prediction. High resolution numerical (computer) hydrology models have been developed, which predict the fates of water and energy after they strike the land surface as precipitation and sunlight. These are similar to weather and climate forecast models, which simulate atmospheric processes. We integrated the GRACE observations into a hydrology model using an advanced technique called data assimilation. The results were new estimates of groundwater, soil moisture, and snow variations, which combined the veracity of GRACE with the high resolution of the model. We tested the technique over the Mississippi River basin, but it will be even more valuable in parts of the world which lack reliable data on water availability.
Document ID
20080030288
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
Authors
Zaitchik, Benjamin F. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Rodell, Matthew (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Reichle, Rolf H. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
August 24, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2007
Subject Category
Meteorology And Climatology
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.

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