ALBERT

Description: Abstract Back to top Although the knowledge of the gravity of the Earth has improved considerably with CHAMP, GRACE, and GOCE (see appendices for a list of abbreviations) satellite missions, the geophysical community has identified the need for the continued monitoring of the time-variable component with the purpose of estimating the hydrological and glaciological yearly cycles and long-term trends. Currently, the GRACE-FO satellites are the sole dedicated provider of these data, while previously the GRACE mission fulfilled that role for 15 years. There is a data gap spanning from July 2017 to May 2018 between the end of the GRACE mission and start the of GRACE-FO, while the Swarm satellites have collected gravimetric data with their GPS receivers since December 2013. We present high-quality gravity field models (GFMs) from Swarm data that constitute an alternative and independent source of gravimetric data, which could help alleviate the consequences of the 10-month gap between GRACE and GRACE-FO, as well as the short gaps in the existing GRACE and GRACE-FO monthly time series. The geodetic community has realized that the combination of different gravity field solutions is superior to any individual model and set up the Combination Service of Time-variable Gravity Fields (COST-G) under the umbrella of the International Gravity Field Service (IGFS), part of the International Association of Geodesy (IAG). We exploit this fact and deliver the highest-quality monthly GFMs, resulting from the combination of four different gravity field estimation approaches. All solutions are unconstrained and estimated independently from month to month. We tested the added value of including kinematic baselines (KBs) in our estimation of GFMs and conclude that there is no significant improvement. The non-gravitational accelerations measured by the accelerometer on board Swarm C were also included in our processing to determine if this would improve the quality of the GFMs, but we observed that is only the case when the amplitude of the non-gravitational accelerations is higher than during the current quiet period in solar activity. Using GRACE data for comparison, we demonstrate that the geophysical signal in the Swarm GFMs is largely restricted to spherical harmonic degrees below 12. A 750 km smoothing radius is suitable to retrieve the temporal variations in Earth's gravity field over land areas since mid-2015 with roughly 4 cm equivalent water height (EWH) agreement with respect to GRACE. Over ocean areas, we illustrate that a more intense smoothing with 3000 km radius is necessary to resolve large-scale gravity variations, which agree with GRACE roughly at the level of 1 cm EWH, while at these spatial scales the GRACE observes variations with amplitudes between 0.3 and 1 cm EWH. The agreement with GRACE and GRACE-FO over nine selected large basins under analysis is 0.91 cm, 0.76 cm yr−1, and 0.79 in terms of temporal mean, trend, and correlation coefficient, respectively.

Description: Northern lakes are considered a major source of atmospheric methane (CH4), a potent GHG1,2. However, large uncertainties in their emissions (7–26 Tg CH4 yr–1; ref. 2) arise from challenges in upscaling field data, including fluxes by ebullition (bubbling), the dominant emission pathway2. Remote sensing of ebullition would allow detailed mapping of regional emissions but has hitherto not been developed. Here, we show that lake ebullition can be imaged using synthetic aperture radar remote sensing during ice-cover periods by exploiting the effect of ebullition on the texture of the ice–water interface. Applying this method to five Alaska regions and combining spatial remote sensing information with year-round bubble-trap flux measurements, we create ebullition-flux maps for 5,143 Alaskan lakes. Regional lake CH4 emissions, based on satellite remote sensing analyses, were lower compared to previous estimates based on upscaling from individual lakes2,3 and were consistent with independent airborne CH4 observations. Thermokarst lakes formed by thaw of organic-rich permafrost had the highest fluxes, although lake density and lake size distributions also controlled regional emissions. This new remote sensing approach offers an opportunity to improve knowledge about Arctic CH4 fluxes and helps to explain long-standing discrepancies between estimates of CH4 emissions from atmospheric measurements and data upscaled from individual lakes.

Description: With the release of the combined GRACE monthly gravity field time-series COST-G RL01 the Combination Service for Time-variable Gravity fields (COST-G) of the International Association of Geodesy (IAG) became operational in July 2019. We present the COST-G RL01 time-series and provide validation in terms of orbit fit, ice mass trends, lake altimetry and sea level budget. We identify weak points in the combined monthly gravity fields and discuss possible improvements of the combination strategy for future combinations. While COST-G RL01 is based on sets of re-processed GRACE monthly gravity fields, COST-G also provides combinations of monthly Swarm high-low satellite-to-satellite tracking (hl-SST) gravity fields on an operational basis with a latency of 3 months. Combinations of GRACE-FO monthly gravity fields are in the process of operationalization. We provide a status report and first results of GRACE-FO combinations. Combined GRACE, Swarm and GRACE-FO gravity fields complement each other to provide a long-term time-series of mass variation in the system Earth.

Description: On November 5–8, 2019, the “Mars Extant Life: What's Next?” conference was convened in Carlsbad, New Mexico. The conference gathered a community of actively publishing experts in disciplines related to habitability and astrobiology. Primary conclusions are as follows: A significant subset of conference attendees concluded that there is a realistic possibility that Mars hosts indigenous microbial life. A powerful theme that permeated the conference is that the key to the search for martian extant life lies in identifying and exploring refugia (“oases”), where conditions are either permanently or episodically significantly more hospitable than average. Based on our existing knowledge of Mars, conference participants highlighted four potential martian refugium (not listed in priority order): Caves, Deep Subsurface, Ices, and Salts. The conference group did not attempt to reach a consensus prioritization of these candidate environments, but instead felt that a defensible prioritization would require a future competitive process. Within the context of these candidate environments, we identified a variety of geological search strategies that could narrow the search space. Additionally, we summarized a number of measurement techniques that could be used to detect evidence of extant life (if present). Again, it was not within the scope of the conference to prioritize these measurement techniques—that is best left for the competitive process. We specifically note that the number and sensitivity of detection methods that could be implemented if samples were returned to Earth greatly exceed the methodologies that could be used at Mars. Finally, important lessons to guide extant life search processes can be derived both from experiments carried out in terrestrial laboratories and analog field sites and from theoretical modeling.

Description: The FLUXNET2015 dataset provides ecosystem-scale data on CO2, water, and energy exchange between the biosphere and the atmosphere, and other meteorological and biological measurements, from 212 sites around the globe (over 1500 site-years, up to and including year 2014). These sites, independently managed and operated, voluntarily contributed their data to create global datasets. Data were quality controlled and processed using uniform methods, to improve consistency and intercomparability across sites. The dataset is already being used in a number of applications, including ecophysiology studies, remote sensing studies, and development of ecosystem and Earth system models. FLUXNET2015 includes derived-data products, such as gap-filled time series, ecosystem respiration and photosynthetic uptake estimates, estimation of uncertainties, and metadata about the measurements, presented for the first time in this paper. In addition, 206 of these sites are for the first time distributed under a Creative Commons (CC-BY 4.0) license. This paper details this enhanced dataset and the processing methods, now made available as open-source codes, making the dataset more accessible, transparent, and reproducible.

Description: Operationally combined monthly gravity fields of the GRACE-FO satellite mission in spherical harmonic representation (Level-2 product) generated by the Combination Service for Time-variable Gravity Fields (COST-G; Jäggi et al. (2020):http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/1345_2020_109), a product center for time-variable gravity fields of IAG's International Gravity Field Service (IGFS). COST-G_GRACE-FO_RL01_OP is a combination of AIUB-GRACE-FO_op, GFZ-RL06 (GFO), GRGS-RL05 (unconstrained solution), ITSG-Grace_op, LUH-GRACE-FO, CSR-RL06 (GFO) and JPL-RL06 (GFO). The original time-series were provided by the analysis centers (ACs) and partner analysis centers (PCs) of COST-G.

Description: In the framework of the COmbination Service for Time-variable Gravity fields (COST-G) gravity field solutions from different analysis centres are combined to provide a consolidated solution of improved quality and robustness to the user. As in many other satellite-related sciences, the correct application of background models plays a crucial role in gravity field determination. Therefore, we publish a set of data of various commonly used forces in orbit and gravity field modelling (Earth's gravity field, tides etc.) evaluated along a one day orbit arc of GRACE, together with auxiliary data to enable easy comparisons. The benchmark data is compiled with the GROOPS software by the Institute of Geodesy (IfG) at Graz University of Technology. It is intended to be used as a reference data set and provides the opportunity to test the implementation of these models at various institutions involved in orbit and gravity field determination from satellite tracking data. In view of the COST-G GRACE and GRACE Follow-On gravity field combinations, we document the outcome of the comparison of the background force models for the Bernese GNSS software from AIUB (Astronomical Institute, University of Bern), the EPOS software of the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), the GINS software, developed and maintained by the Groupe de Recherche de Géodésie Spatiale (GRGS), the GRACE-SIGMA software of the Leibniz University of Hannover (LUH) and the GRASP software also developed at LUH. We consider differences in the force modelling for GRACE (-FO) which are one order of magnitude smaller than the accelerometer noise of about 10−10 m s−2 to be negligible and formulate this as a benchmark for new analysis centres, which are interested to contribute to the COST-G initiative.

Description: Operational GRACE Follow-On monthly gravity field solutions starting from June 2018 up to degree and order 96 computed with the Celestial Mechanics Approach at AIUB. The time series is a loose continuation of AIUB-RL02 GRACE monthly gravity field time series using Level-1B GRACE Follow-On data and operational accelerometer transplant data from IfG (Institute of Geodesy, TU Graz, Working Group Theoretical Geodesy and Satellite Geodesy) and updated background models. The dataset is created within the framework of the G3P project (https://www.g3p.eu/), this project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 870353.

Description: In the framework of the COmbination Service of Time-variable Gravity fields (COST-G) gravity field solutions from different analysis centres are combined to provide a consolidated solution of improved quality to the user. As in many other satellite-related sciences, the correct application of background models plays a crucial role in gravity field determination. Therefore, we publish a set of data of various commonly used forces in orbit and gravity field modelling (gravity field, tides etc.) evaluated along a one day orbit arc of GRACE, together with some additional data to enable easy comparisons. The benchmark data is compiled with the GROOPS software by the Institute of Geodesy (IfG) at Graz University of Technology. It is intended to be used as a reference and provides the opportunity to test the implementation of these models at various analysis centres. In view of the COST-G GRACE (-FO) gravity field combinations, we show the outcome of such a background force field software validation for the GRACE-SIGMA software of the Leibniz University of Hannover (LUH), the GRGS GINS software, EPOS of the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) and the Bernese GNSS software from AIUB (Astronomical Institute, University of Bern). We consider differences in the force modelling for GRACE (-FO) of one order of magnitude less than the accelerometer noise to be negligible, and make an attempt to quantify and explain differences exceeding this threshold.