Seasonal variations in sea level induced by continental water mass: First results from GRACE

Variations in the Earth's water cycle are commonly quantified by their effect on global mean sea?level. However, the interaction between passive adjustment of the ocean to changes in gravitational attraction due to mass redistribution, the related deformation of the solid Earth and disturbances in the Earth's rotation vector will yield a...

J2: An evaluation of new estimates from GPS, GRACE, and load models compared to SLR

Changes in J2, resulting from past and present changes in Earth's climate, are traditionally observed by Satellite Laser ranging (SLR). Assuming an elastic Earth, it is possible to infer changes in J2 from changes in Earth's shape observed by GPS. We compare estimates of non-secular J2 changes from GPS, SLR, GRACE, and a load model. The GPS and...

Sea?level fingerprint of continental water and ice mass change from GRACE

The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment satellites (GRACE) provide, for the first time, a method to directly measure mass exchange between the land and oceans over time. The dominant components of this exchange are due to continental ice loss/gain and land hydrology. Here, we determine the secular trend in these two components during the...

Higher?order ionospheric effects on the GPS reference frame and velocities

We describe how GPS time series are influenced by higher?order ionospheric effects over the last solar cycle (1995–2008) and examine implications for geophysical studies. Using 14 years of globally reprocessed solutions, we demonstrate the effect on the reference frame. Including second? and third?order ionospheric terms causes up to 10 mm...

Signal and noise in Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) observed surface mass variations

The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) product used for this study consists of 43 monthly potential coefficient sets released by the GRACE science team which are used to generate surface mass thickness grids expressed as equivalent water heights (EQWHs). We optimized both the smoothing radius and the level of approximation by...

The Stress-Strain State and Potential Crack Trajectories in 2D Elastic Brittle Materials from Steady-State Flow Experiments

A steady-state flow method is used to examine micromechanisms of brittle failure in 2D elastic cracked media submitted to uniaxial compressive stress. The steady-state flow experiments were conducted with an incompressible Newtonian fluid in a Hele Shaw cell. Thin linear rubber inclusions were inserted in the cell to model preexisting cracks and...