Mass change in the Earth System

- water storage, sea level, ice sheets, crust-mantle dynamics, and others -

A survey on user requirements for future satellite gravity missions

Abstract

Mass changes on and below the Earth surface, such as from water storage variations, groundwater use, glacier melt, sea level change, earthquakes, among many others, can be observed by satellite gravimetry. 

Since 2002, the GRACE and GRACE-FO satellite gravity missions have been observing changes in the Earth’s gravity field that can be converted to mass changes with an accuracy of 2 cm water equivalent at a spatial resolution of about 300km for monthly data. ESA and NASA are currently planning a double-pair satellite constellation MAGIC (envisaged time frame: 2028-2038), which promises an enhanced spatial and temporal resolution compared to GRACE/-FO. 

After that, e.g. 15 years into the future, the QSG4EMT (Quantum Space Gravimetry for monitoring Earth’s Mass Transport Processes) mission may provide even larger improvements in spatial and temporal resolution of mass change data, significantly expanding the potential range of applications.

The purpose of this questionnaire is to compile user requirements for such novel mission concepts.

The survey will take approximately 15 minutes.