Elliptic polarisation of the polar motion excitation

2015 ◽  
Vol 90 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Bizouard
2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Justyna Śliwińska ◽  
Jolanta Nastula ◽  
Małgorzata Wińska

AbstractIn geodesy, a key application of data from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), GRACE Follow-On (GRACE-FO), and Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) is an interpretation of changes in polar motion excitation due to variations in the Earth’s surficial fluids, especially in the continental water, snow, and ice. Such impacts are usually examined by computing hydrological and cryospheric polar motion excitation (hydrological and cryospheric angular momentum, HAM/CAM). Three types of GRACE and GRACE-FO data can be used to determine HAM/CAM, namely degree-2 order-1 spherical harmonic coefficients of geopotential, gridded terrestrial water storage anomalies computed from spherical harmonic coefficients, and terrestrial water storage anomalies obtained from mascon solutions. This study compares HAM/CAM computed from these three kinds of gravimetric data. A comparison of GRACE-based excitation series with HAM/CAM obtained from SLR is also provided. A validation of different HAM/CAM estimates is conducted here using the so-called geodetic residual time series (GAO), which describes the hydrological and cryospheric signal in the observed polar motion excitation. Our analysis of GRACE mission data indicates that the use of mascon solutions provides higher consistency between HAM/CAM and GAO than the use of other datasets, especially in the seasonal spectral band. These conclusions are confirmed by the results obtained for data from first 2 years of GRACE-FO. Overall, after 2 years from the start of GRACE-FO, the high consistency between HAM/CAM and GAO that was achieved during the best GRACE period has not yet been repeated. However, it should be remembered that with the systematic appearance of subsequent GRACE-FO observations, this quality can be expected to increase. SLR data can be used for determination of HAM/CAM to fill the one-year-long data gap between the end of GRACE and the start of the GRACE-FO mission. In addition, SLR series could be particularly useful in determination of HAM/CAM in the non-seasonal spectral band. Despite its low seasonal amplitudes, SLR-based HAM/CAM provides high phase consistency with GAO for annual and semiannual oscillation.


2008 ◽  
Vol 65 (7) ◽  
pp. 2290-2307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven B. Feldstein

Abstract The atmospheric dynamical processes that drive intraseasonal polar motion are examined with National Centers for Environmental Prediction–National Center for Atmospheric Research reanalysis data and with pole position data from the International Earth Rotation Service. The primary methodology involves the regression of different atmospheric variables against the polar motion excitation function. A power spectral analysis of the polar motion excitation function finds a statistically significant peak at 10 days. Correlation calculations show that this peak is associated with the 10-day, first antisymmetric, zonal wavenumber 1, normal mode of the atmosphere. A coherency calculation indicates that the atmospheric driving of polar motion is mostly confined to two frequency bands, with periods of 7.5–13 and 13–90 days. Regressions of surface pressure reveal that the 7.5–13-day band corresponds to the 10-day atmospheric normal mode and the 13–90-day band to a quasi-stationary wave. The regressions of pole position and the various torques indicate not only that the equatorial bulge torque dominates the mountain and friction torques but also that the driving by the equatorial bulge torque accounts for a substantial fraction of the intraseasonal polar motion. Furthermore, although the 10-day and quasi-stationary wave contributions to the equatorial bulge torque are similar, the response in the pole position is primarily due to the quasi-stationary wave. Additional calculations of regressed power spectra and meridional heat fluxes indicate that the atmospheric wave pattern that drives polar motion is itself excited by synoptic-scale eddies. Regressions of pole position with separate torques from either hemisphere show that most of the pole displacement arises from the equatorial bulge torque from the winter hemisphere. Together with the above findings on wave–wave interactions, these results suggest that synoptic-scale eddies in the winter hemisphere excite the quasi-stationary wave, which in turn drives the polar motion through the equatorial bulge torque.


2019 ◽  
Vol 124 ◽  
pp. 119-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jolanta Nastula ◽  
Małgorzata Wińska ◽  
Justyna Śliwińska ◽  
David Salstein

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (21) ◽  
pp. 3490
Author(s):  
Justyna Śliwińska ◽  
Małgorzata Wińska ◽  
Jolanta Nastula

The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission has provided global observations of temporal variations in the gravity field resulting from mass redistribution at the surface and within the Earth for the period 2002–2017. Although GRACE satellites are not able to realistically detect the second zonal parameter (ΔC20) of geopotential associated with the flattening of the Earth, they can accurately determine variations in degree-2 order-1 (ΔC21, ΔS21) coefficients that are proportional to variations in polar motion. Therefore, GRACE measurements are commonly exploited to interpret polar motion changes due to variations in the global mass redistribution, especially in the continental hydrosphere and cryosphere. Such impacts are usually examined by computing the so-called hydrological polar motion excitation (HAM) and cryospheric polar motion excitation (CAM), often analyzed together as HAM/CAM. The great success of the GRACE mission and the scientific robustness of its data contributed to the launch of its successor, GRACE Follow-On (GRACE-FO), which began in May 2018 and continues to the present. This study presents the first estimates of HAM/CAM computed from GRACE-FO data provided by three data centers: Center for Space Research (CSR), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and GeoForschungsZentrum (GFZ). In this paper, the data series is computed using different types of GRACE/GRACE-FO data: ΔC21, ΔS21 coefficients of geopotential, gridded terrestrial water storage anomalies, and mascon solutions. We compare and evaluate different methods of HAM/CAM estimation and examine the compatibility between CSR, JPL, and GFZ data. We also validate different HAM/CAM estimations using precise geodetic measurements and geophysical models. Analysis of data from the first 19 months of GRACE-FO shows that the consistency between GRACE-FO-based HAM/CAM and observed hydrological/cryospheric signals in polar motion is similar to the consistency obtained for the initial period of the GRACE mission, worse than the consistency received for the best GRACE period, and higher than the consistency obtained for the terminal phase of the GRACE mission. In general, the current quality of HAM/CAM from GRACE Follow-On meets expectations. In the following months, after full calibration of the instruments, this accuracy is expected to increase.


2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonid V. Zotov ◽  
Christian Bizouard

AbstractObserved polar motion consists of uniform circular motions at both positive (prograde) and negative (retrograde) frequencies. Generalized Euler–Liouville equations of Bizouard, taking into account Earth's triaxiality and asymmetry of the ocean tide, show that the corresponding retrograde and prograde circular excitations are coupled at any frequency. In this work, we reconstructed the polar motion excitation in the Chandler band (prograde and retrograde). Then we compared it with geophysical excitation, filtered out in the same way from the series of the Oceanic Angular Momentum (OAM) and Atmospheric Angular Momentum (AAM) for the period 1960–2000. The agreement was found to be better in the prograde band than in the retrograde one.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justyna Śliwińska ◽  
Małgorzata Wińska ◽  
Jolanta Nastula

<p>The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission has provided global observations of temporal variations in mass redistribution at the surface and within the Earth for the period 2002–2017. Such measurements are commonly exploited to interpret polar motion changes due to variations in the Earth’s surficial fluids, especially in the continental hydrosphere. Such impacts are usually examined by computing the so-called hydrological polar motion excitation (Hydrological Angular Momentum, HAM). The great success of the GRACE mission and the scientific robustness of its data contributed to the launch of its successor, GRACE Follow-On (GRACE-FO), which begun in May 2018 and continues to the present.</p> <p>This study compares the estimates of HAM computed from GRACE and GRACE-FO mascon data provided by three data centers: Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Center for Space Research (CSR), and Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). The analysis of HAM is performed for different spectral bands. A validation of different HAM estimates is conducted here using precise geodetic measurements of the pole coordinates and geophysical models (so-called geodetic residuals or GAO).</p> <p>Comparison of HAM computed from different mascon data sources indicates high consistency between the solutions provided by JPL and CSR, and low consistency between the GSFC solution and other data. The reason for this may be that the strategy used for GSFC mascons computation is different than methodology exploited by CSR and JPL teams. This study also indicates that HAM computed using CSR and JPL solutions are characterized by the highest consistency with GAO in all considered spectral bands.</p>


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