Contributions of water mass redistribution to polar motion excitation

1993 ◽  
pp. 77-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clark R. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Polar Motion ◽  
Water Mass ◽  
Mass Redistribution ◽  
Polar Motion Excitation

scholarly journals Preliminary Estimation and Validation of Polar Motion Excitation from Different Types of the GRACE and GRACE Follow-On Missions Data

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (21) ◽  
pp. 3490
Author(s):  
Justyna Śliwińska ◽  
Małgorzata Wińska ◽  
Jolanta Nastula
Keyword(s):  
Polar Motion ◽  
Initial Period ◽  
Terminal Phase ◽  
Data Series ◽  
Great Success ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Mass Redistribution ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Grace Mission ◽  
Polar Motion Excitation

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.

scholarly journals Evaluating Gravimetric Polar Motion Excitation Estimates from the RL06 GRACE Monthly-Mean Gravity Field Models

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 930 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justyna Śliwińska ◽  
Jolanta Nastula ◽  
Henryk Dobslaw ◽  
Robert Dill
Keyword(s):  
Polar Motion ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Spectral Bands ◽  
Mass Redistribution ◽  
Temporal Models ◽  
Gravity Recovery ◽  
Grace Mission ◽  
Gravity Field Models ◽  
Polar Motion Excitation ◽  
Level Of Agreement

Over the last 15 years, the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission has provided measurements of temporal changes in mass redistribution at and within the Earth that affect polar motion. The newest generation of GRACE temporal models, are evaluated by conversion into the equatorial components of hydrological polar motion excitation and compared with the residuals of observed polar motion excitation derived from geodetic measurements of the pole coordinates. We analyze temporal variations of hydrological excitation series and decompose them into linear trends and seasonal and non-seasonal changes, with a particular focus on the spectral bands with periods of 1000–3000, 450–1000, 100–450, and 60–100 days. Hydrological and reduced geodetic excitation series are also analyzed in four separated time periods which are characterized by different accuracy of GRACE measurements. The level of agreement between hydrological and reduced geodetic excitation depends on the frequency band considered and is highest for interannual changes with periods of 1000–3000 days. We find that the CSR RL06, ITSG 2018 and CNES RL04 GRACE solutions provide the best agreement with reduced geodetic excitation for most of the oscillations investigated.

scholarly journals Evaluation of hydrological and cryospheric angular momentum estimates based on GRACE, GRACE-FO and SLR data for their contributions to polar motion excitation

2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Justyna Śliwińska ◽  
Jolanta Nastula ◽  
Małgorzata Wińska
Keyword(s):  
Angular Momentum ◽  
Spherical Harmonic ◽  
Polar Motion ◽  
Spectral Band ◽  
Water Storage ◽  
Terrestrial Water Storage ◽  
Terrestrial Water ◽  
High Consistency ◽  
Polar Motion Excitation

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.

The Dynamics of Atmospherically Driven Intraseasonal Polar Motion

2008 ◽  
Vol 65 (7) ◽  
pp. 2290-2307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven B. Feldstein
Keyword(s):  
Excitation Function ◽  
Normal Mode ◽  
Polar Motion ◽  
Stationary Wave ◽  
Pole Position ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Synoptic Scale ◽  
Zonal Wavenumber ◽  
Polar Motion Excitation ◽  
Winter Hemisphere

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.

Hydrological signals in polar motion excitation – Evidence after fifteen years of the GRACE mission

2019 ◽  
Vol 124 ◽  
pp. 119-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jolanta Nastula ◽  
Małgorzata Wińska ◽  
Justyna Śliwińska ◽  
David Salstein
Keyword(s):  
Polar Motion ◽  
Grace Mission ◽  
Polar Motion Excitation

Reconstruction of prograde and retrograde Chandler excitation

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonid V. Zotov ◽  
Christian Bizouard
Keyword(s):  
Angular Momentum ◽  
Polar Motion ◽  
Atmospheric Angular Momentum ◽  
Ocean Tide ◽  
Oceanic Angular Momentum ◽  
Geophysical Excitation ◽  
Polar Motion Excitation

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.

scholarly journals Reducing filter effects in GRACE-derived polar motion excitations

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franziska Göttl ◽  
Michael Murböck ◽  
Michael Schmidt ◽  
Florian Seitz
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Field ◽  
Polar Motion ◽  
Grid Point ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Earth System ◽  
Satellite Mission ◽  
Geophysical Model ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Mass Redistribution ◽  
Filter Effects

<p><span>Polar motion is caused by mass redistribution and motion within the Earth system. The GRACE satellite mission observed variations of the Earth’s gravity field which are caused by mass redistribution. Therefore GRACE time variable gravity field models are a valuable source to estimate individual geophysical mass-related excitations of polar motion. Since GRACE observations contain erroneous meridional stripes, filtering is essential in order to retrieve meaningful information about mass redistribution within the Earth system. However filtering reduces not only the noise but also smooths the signal and induces leakage of neighboring subsystems into each other.</span></p><p><span><span>We present a novel approach to reduce these filter effects in GRACE-derived equivalent water heights and polar motion excitation functions which is based on once and twice filtered gravity field solutions. The advantages of this method are that it is independent from geophysical model information, works on global grid point scale and can therefore be used for mass variation estimations of several subsystems of the Earth (e.g. continental hydrosphere, oceans, Antarctica and Greenland). In order to validate this new method, we perform a closed-loop simulation based on a realistic orbit scenario and error assumptions for instruments and background models, apply it to real GRACE data (GFZ RL06) and show comparisons with ocean model results from ECCO and MPIOM.</span></span></p>

scholarly journals A Mechanism of Variations of the Earth Rotation at Different Timescales

2000 ◽  
Vol 178 ◽  
pp. 373-379
Author(s):  
Yu. V. Barkin
Keyword(s):  
Polar Motion ◽  
Wide Spectrum ◽  
Slow Motion ◽  
Plate Motion ◽  
Triple Junctions ◽  
Geological Time ◽  
Time Intervals ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Mass Redistribution ◽  
Celestial Bodies

AbstractTo explain the observed effects in the Earth’s polar motion, a mechanism of the relative motion of the lower mantle and upper mantle with a boundary at 670 km of depth is proposed. According to the new approach, the Earth’s layers (including separate plates) are considered as nonspherical, heterogeneous celestial bodies, interacting with each other, with the Moon and the Sun and executing a wide spectrum of relative motions in different timescales. The small displacements of the centers of masses of the lower and upper mantles and their relative rotations have here a primary importance. These displacements display themselves at various time scales (from a few months to millions of years), and their manifestations are readily detected in the regularities of the distribution of geological structures as well as in many geodynamical processes. Important regularities of the ordered positions of the plate centers, of their triple junctions, hot spots, systems of fractures and cracks, geographic structures, fields of fossils, etc., are observed as consequences of certain displacements and inclined rotations (Barkin, 1999). At geological time intervals, the slow motion of the layers causes mutually correlated variations of the processes of rifting, spreading, subduction, regressions and transgressions of the sea, of the plate motion, formation and breakdown of super continents, etc. The motions and the accompanying tectonic mass redistribution cause variations of the components of the Earth’s inertia tensor and geopotential, which lead to variations of its diurnal rotation and polar motion. Explanation of the main properties of the perturbed Chandler polar motion has been done.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document