Potential of Ka‐Band Range Rate Post‐Fit Residuals for High‐Frequency Mass Change Applications

Abstract

We present the first extensive analysis of K/Ka-band ranging post-fit residuals of an official Level-2 product, characterized as Line-of-Sight Gravity Differences (LGD), which exhibit and showcase interesting sub-monthly geophysical signals. These residuals, provided by Center for Space Research, were derived from the difference between spherical harmonic coefficient least-squares fits and reduced Level-1B range-rate observations. We classified the geophysical signals into four distinct categories: oceanic, meteorological, hydrological, and solid Earth, focusing primarily on the first three categories in this study. In our examination of oceanic processes, we identified notable mass anomalies in the Argentine basin, specifically within the Zapiola Rise, where persistent remnants of the rotating dipole-like modes are evident in the LGD post-fit residuals. Our analysis extended to the Gulf of Carpentaria and Australia during the 2013 Oswald cyclone, revealing significant LGD residual anomalies that correlate with cyclone tracking and precipitation data. Additionally, we investigated the monsoon seasons in Bangladesh, particularly from June–September 2007, where we observed peaks in sub-monthly variability. These findings were further validated by demonstrating high spatial and temporal correlations between gridded LGD residuals and ITSG-Grace2018 daily solutions. These identified anomalies are associated with significant mass change phenomena, underscoring the critical importance of these geophysical signals for future high-resolution studies of mass transport.