Glacial Isostatic Adjustment and Contemporary Sea Level Rise: An Overview

Glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) encompasses a suite of geophysical phenomena accompanying the waxing and waning of continental-scale ice sheets. These involve the solid Earth, the oceans and the cryosphere both on short (decade to century) and on long (millennia) timescales. In the framework of contemporary sea-level change, the role of GIA is particular. In fact, among the processes significantly contributing to contemporary sea-level change, GIA is the only one for which deformational, gravitational and rotational effects are simultaneously operating, and for which the rheology of the solid Earth is essential. Here, I review the basic elements of the GIA theory, emphasizing the connections with current sea-level changes observed by tide gauges and altimetry. This purpose is met discussing the nature of the “sea-level equation” (SLE), which represents the basis for modeling the sea-level variations of glacial isostatic origin, also giving access to a full set of geodetic variations associated with GIA. Here, the SLE is employed to characterize the remarkable geographical variability of the GIA-induced sea-level variations, which are often expressed in terms of “fingerprints”. Using harmonic analysis, the spatial variability of the GIA fingerprints is compared to that of other components of contemporary sea-level change. In closing, some attention is devoted to the importance of the “GIA corrections” in the context of modern sea-level observations, based on tide gauges or satellite altimeters.     

Improved Constraints on Models of Glacial Isostatic Adjustment: A Review of the Contribution of Ground-Based Geodetic Observations

The provision of accurate models of Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA) is presently a priority need in climate studies, largely due to the potential of the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) data to be used to determine accurate and continent-wide assessments of ice mass change and hydrology. However, modelled GIA is uncertain due to insufficient constraints on our knowledge of past glacial changes and to large simplifications in the underlying Earth models. Consequently, we show differences between models that exceed several mm/year in terms of surface displacement for the two major ice sheets: Greenland and Antarctica. Geodetic measurements of surface displacement offer the potential for new constraints to be made on GIA models, especially when they are used to improve structural features of the Earth’s interior as to allow for a more realistic reconstruction of the glaciation history. We present the distribution of presently available campaign and continuous geodetic measurements in Greenland and Antarctica and summarise surface velocities published to date, showing substantial disagreement between techniques and GIA models alike. We review the current state-of-the-art in ground-based geodesy (GPS, VLBI, DORIS, SLR) in determining accurate and precise surface velocities. In particular, we focus on known areas of need in GPS observation level models and the terrestrial reference frame in order to advance geodetic observation precision/accuracy toward 0.1 mm/year and therefore further constrain models of GIA and subsequent present-day ice mass change estimates.     

联合GRACE和ICESat数据分离南极冰川均衡调整(GIA)信号

2002年发射的GRACE重力卫星为南极冰盖质量平衡提供了一种新的测量方式,但由于南极GIA模型的不确定较大,进而影响GRACE结果的可靠性.本文联合2003-2009年的GRACE和ICESat等数据实现了南极GIA信号的分离,联合方法所分离的GIA不依赖于不确定性很大的冰负荷等假设模型,而是直接基于卫星观测数据估算而来的,具有更大的可靠性.在分离过程中,本文提出了冰流速度加权改正法和GPS球谐拟合改正法对GIA结果进行精化,同时引入了南极GPS观测站的位移数据对分离的GIA进行详细的评估和验证,GPS验证表明经过冰流速度加权和GPS球谐拟合双改正后的GIA结果精度明显得到提高.最后本文利用所分离的GIA对GRACE和ICESat结果进行了改正,得到2003-2009年南极冰盖质量变化的趋势为-66.7±54.5 Gt/a（GRACE）和-77.2±21.5 Gt/a（ICESat）,相比采用其他的GIA模型,本文的GIA结果使GRACE和ICESat这两种不同观测技术得到的南极冰盖质量变化结果更加趋于一致.     

Identification of Glacial Isostatic Adjustment in Eastern Canada Using S Transform Filtering of GPS Observations

Over the years, a number of different models and techniques have been proposed to both quantify and explain the glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) process. There are serious challenges, however, to obtaining accurate results from measurements, due to noise in the data and the long periods of time necessary to identify the relatively small-magnitude signal in certain regions. The primary difficulty, in general, is that most of the geophysical signals that occur in addition to GIA are nonstationary in nature. These signals are also corrupted by random as well as correlated noise added during data acquisition. The nonstationary characteristic of the data makes it difficult for traditional frequency-domain denoising approaches to be effective. Time–frequency filters present a more robust and reliable alternative to deal with this problem. This paper proposes an extended S transform filtering approach to separate the various signals and isolate that associated with GIA. Continuous global positioning system (GPS) data from eastern Canada for the period from June 2001 to June 2006 are analyzed here, and the vertical velocities computed after filtering are consistent with the GIA models put forward by other researchers.     

Constraints on Infrasound Scaling and Attenuation Relations from Soviet Explosion Data

—?The Institute for the Dynamics of the Geospheres (IDG) in Moscow, Russia, contains an archive of infrasound recordings from Soviet atmospheric nuclear tests that were conducted in 1957 and 1961, and has digitized the highest quality records from this data set. We have measured the infrasound signals from these records and compared them with previously developed scaling and attenuation relations. We find that the data are in best agreement with a scaling and attenuation relation developed by the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) which can be written as logP = 3.37 + 0.68 logW? 1.36logR where P is zero to peak pressure amplitude in Pascals, W is the yield in kilotons, and R is the source to receiver distance in kilometers. We use the scaling relations to define an infrasound magnitude, and to estimate the detection capability of the International Monitoring System (IMS) being developed as part of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). The detection threshold for the proposed 60-station IMS network is estimated to be slightly higher than the CTBT design goal of 1 kiloton in some locations.     

Ocean Surface Geostrophic Circulation Climatology and Annual Variations Inferred from Satellite Altimetry and GOCE Gravity Data

We have studied, for the first time, variations in absolute surface geostrophic currents (SGC) using satellite data only. The proposed approach combines 18 years’ altimetry data, which provide reliable measurements of absolute sea level (ASL), with a gravity field and steady-state ocean circulation explorer geoid model to obtain dynamic topography, and achieves unprecedented precision and accuracy. Our proposal overcomes the main limitations of existing approaches based solely on altimetry data (which suffer from lack of an independent reference for derivation of ASL maps), and approximations based on in-situ data (which are characterized by a sparse and inhomogeneous coverage in time and space). Features of annual variations of SGC are also addressed. As a result of our study we provide new absolute SGC climatology in the form of a 52-week data set of surface current fields, gridded at quarter degree longitude and latitude resolution and resolving spatial scales as short as 140 km. For presentation, this data set is averaged monthly and the results, presented as monthly climatology, are compared with climatology based on in-situ observations from drifter data.     

Correction of Hydrological and Oceanic Effects from GRACE Data by Combination of the Steric Sea Level,Altimetry Data and GLDAS Model

In this study, a scheme to estimate oceanic and hydrological effects in the GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) data is presented. The aim is to reveal tectonic signals for the case of the Sumatra earthquake on 26 December 2004. The variations of hydrological and oceanic effects are estimated with the aid of data set of GRACE, altimetry, World Ocean Atlas, and the GLDAS model for a period of January 2003 to December 2006. The time series of computed gravity changes over Sumatra region show some correlations to the deformation resulting from the earthquake occurred in December 2004. The maximum and minimum impacts of hydrological and oceanic effects on gravity changes are about 3 μGal in radial direction and–5 μGal in northward direction. The maximum and minimum amounts of gravitational gradient changes after the correction are 0.2 and–0.25 mE, which indicates the significant influences of hydrological and oceanic sources on the desired signal.     

Impact of GOCE Level 1b data reprocessing on GOCE-only and combined gravity field models

The reprocessing of Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) Level 1b gradiometer and star tracker data applying upgraded processing methods leads to improved gravity gradient and attitude products. The impact of these enhanced products on GOCE-only and combined GOCE+GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) gravity field models is analyzed in detail, based on a two-months data period of Nov. and Dec. 2009, and applying a rigorous gravity field solution of full normal equations. Gravity field models that are based only on GOCE gradiometer data benefit most, especially in the low to medium degree range of the harmonic spectrum, but also for specific groups of harmonic coefficients around order 16 and its integer multiples, related to the satellite’s revolution frequency. However, due to the fact that also (near-)sectorial coefficients are significantly improved up to high degrees (which is caused mainly by an enhanced second derivative in Y direction of the gravitational potential — V_YY), also combined gravity field models, including either GOCE orbit information or GRACE data, show improvements of more than 10% compared to the use of original gravity gradient data. Finally, the resulting gradiometry-only, GOCE-only and GOCE+GRACE global gravity field models have been externally validated by independent GPS/levelling observations in selected regions. In conclusion, it can be expected that several applications will benefit from the better quality of data and resulting GOCE and combined gravity field models.     

The El Salvador and Philippines Tsunamis of August 2012: Insights from Sea Level Data Analysis and Numerical Modeling

We studied two tsunamis from 2012, one generated by the El Salvador earthquake of 27 August (Mw 7.3) and the other generated by the Philippines earthquake of 31 August (Mw 7.6), using sea level data analysis and numerical modeling. For the El Salvador tsunami, the largest wave height was observed in Baltra, Galapagos Islands (71.1 cm) located about 1,400 km away from the source. The tsunami governing periods were around 9 and 19 min. Numerical modeling indicated that most of the tsunami energy was directed towards the Galapagos Islands, explaining the relatively large wave height there. For the Philippines tsunami, the maximum wave height of 30.5 cm was observed at Kushimoto in Japan located about 2,700 km away from the source. The tsunami governing periods were around 8, 12 and 29 min. Numerical modeling showed that a significant part of the far-field tsunami energy was directed towards the southern coast of Japan. Fourier and wavelet analyses as well as numerical modeling suggested that the dominant period of the first wave at stations normal to the fault strike is related to the fault width, while the period of the first wave at stations in the direction of fault strike is representative of the fault length.     

Water Budget of the Caspian Sea in the Last Glacial Maximum by Data of Experiments with Mathematical Models

Water Resources - Variations of Caspian Sea water budget in the epoch of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, ~21 thousand years ago) relative to the preindustrial conditions (~1850 CE) are considered...     

GOCE引力梯度的频谱分析及滤波

GOCE卫星提供的梯度数据含有非常大的低频误差,如何处理这种误差是GOCE数据处理中最为关键的工作之一.本文根据GOCE卫星的运行情况,首先分析了梯度数据的频率特性,推导了频率与阶次的对应关系;并在此之上,介绍了针对低频误差的滤波方法,即移去恢复和向前向后滤波方法,前者可解决滤波中的低频信号损失问题,后者则主要解决了滤波中的相位漂移问题.最终结果表明:引力梯度的时间频谱与球谐展开中的阶次虽不是一一对应的,但各阶所对应的最大截止频率与阶次却有一定的显式表达.同时也表明,本文所采用的滤波方法是有效的,达到了消除低频误差但保留观测频段信号的目的.     

GOCE引力梯度的频谱分析及滤波

GOCE卫星提供的梯度数据含有非常大的低频误差,如何处理这种误差是GOCE数据处理中最为关键的工作之一.本文根据GOCE卫星的运行情况,首先分析了梯度数据的频率特性,推导了频率与阶次的对应关系;并在此之上,介绍了针对低频误差的滤波方法,即移去恢复和向前向后滤波方法,前者可解决滤波中的低频信号损失问题,后者则主要解决了滤波中的相位漂移问题.最终结果表明:引力梯度的时间频谱与球谐展开中的阶次虽不是一一对应的,但各阶所对应的最大截止频率与阶次却有一定的显式表达.同时也表明,本文所采用的滤波方法是有效的,达到了消除低频误差但保留观测频段信号的目的.     

Internal Variability Versus Anthropogenic Forcing on Sea Level and Its Components

In this paper we review and update detection and attribution studies in sea level and its major contributors during the past decades. Tide gauge records reveal that the observed twentieth-century global and regional sea level rise is out of the bounds of its natural variability, evidencing thus a human fingerprint in the reported trends. The signal varies regionally, and it partly depends on the magnitude of the background variability. The human fingerprint is also manifested in the contributors of sea level for which observations are available, namely ocean thermal expansion and glaciers’ mass loss, which dominated the global sea level rise over the twentieth century. Attribution studies provide evidence that the trends in both components are clearly dominated by anthropogenic forcing over the second half of the twentieth century. In the earlier decades, there is a lack of observations hampering an improved attribution of causes to the observed sea level rise. At certain locations along the coast, the human influence is exacerbated by local coastal activities that induce land subsidence and increase the risk of sea level-related hazards.     

末次盛冰期以来南海南部天然气水合物储库变化及其对环境的影响

末次盛冰期以来南海南部海平面及海洋底水温度均发生了很大的变化. 为了研究南海南部天然气水合物稳定带厚度在这个过程中的变化情况及其对环境的影响,我们利用相关的计算公式,并编制了计算稳定带厚度的程序,在南海南部的南沙海槽、曾母盆地、巴拉望盆地和苏禄海等四个重点海域选取了35个点进行末次盛冰期及目前稳定带厚度的计算. 计算结果表明,南海南部末次盛冰期和目前的天然气水合物稳定带厚度分别为262m和233m;甲烷资源量分别为2.69×1013m3和2.39×1013m3;水合物资源量分别为1.64×1011m3和1.46×1011m3. 这说明自末次盛冰期以来,南海南部稳定带厚度平均减薄了29m,平均减薄百分比为12%,同时释放了大约3.0×1012m3的甲烷,这些甲烷对环境产生了较大影响,对末次冰期的结束起了较大作用.     

融合GOCE和GRACE卫星数据的无约束重力场模型Tongji-GOGR2019S

本文在法方程层面融合GOCE卫星的V_xx、V_yy、V_zz和V_xz重力梯度分量观测数据和GRACE卫星观测数据,采用直接法解算了220阶次的重力场模型Tongji-GOGR2019S.首先利用ⅡR带通滤波器在5~41 mHz的重力梯度带宽范围内对约24个月的GOCE重力梯度观测方程进行无相移滤波处理,并组成解算220阶次重力场模型的法方程,各梯度分量根据相对于参考模型统计精度进行定权;然后与13.5 a GRACE数据建立的180阶次Tongji-Grace02s重力场模型的法方程进行叠加,解算了220阶次的无约束纯卫星重力场模型Tongji-GOGR2019S.利用EIGEN-6C4重力场模型、GNSS/水准数据、DTU15重力异常数据以及欧洲区域似大地水准面模型EGG2015等数据对Tongji-GOGR2019S模型精度进行全面的检核评定,结果表明：引入GOCE卫星梯度数据后,高于72阶的位系数精度优于Tongji-Grace02s模型,Tongji-GOGR2019S模型的整体精度接近同阶次的DIR-R6等GOCE卫星第6代模型.     

融合GOCE和GRACE卫星数据的无约束重力场模型Tongji-GOGR2019S

本文在法方程层面融合GOCE卫星的V_xx、V_yy、V_zz和V_xz重力梯度分量观测数据和GRACE卫星观测数据,采用直接法解算了220阶次的重力场模型Tongji-GOGR2019S.首先利用ⅡR带通滤波器在5~41 mHz的重力梯度带宽范围内对约24个月的GOCE重力梯度观测方程进行无相移滤波处理,并组成解算220阶次重力场模型的法方程,各梯度分量根据相对于参考模型统计精度进行定权;然后与13.5 a GRACE数据建立的180阶次Tongji-Grace02s重力场模型的法方程进行叠加,解算了220阶次的无约束纯卫星重力场模型Tongji-GOGR2019S.利用EIGEN-6C4重力场模型、GNSS/水准数据、DTU15重力异常数据以及欧洲区域似大地水准面模型EGG2015等数据对Tongji-GOGR2019S模型精度进行全面的检核评定,结果表明：引入GOCE卫星梯度数据后,高于72阶的位系数精度优于Tongji-Grace02s模型,Tongji-GOGR2019S模型的整体精度接近同阶次的DIR-R6等GOCE卫星第6代模型.

     

Satellite Altimetry-Based Sea Level at Global and Regional Scales

Since the beginning of the 1990s, sea level is routinely measured using high-precision satellite altimetry. Over the past ~25 years, several groups worldwide involved in processing the satellite altimetry data regularly provide updates of sea level time series at global and regional scales. Here we present an ongoing effort supported by the European Space Agency (ESA) Climate Change Initiative Programme for improving the altimetry-based sea level products. Two main objectives characterize this enterprise: (1) to make use of ESA missions (ERS-1 and 2 and Envisat) in addition to the so-called ‘reference’ missions like TOPEX/Poseidon and the Jason series in the computation of the sea level time series, and (2) to improve all processing steps in order to meet the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) accuracy requirements defined for a set of 50 Essential Climate Variables, sea level being one of them. We show that improved geophysical corrections, dedicated processing algorithms, reduction of instrumental bias and drifts, and careful linkage between missions led to improved sea level products. Regarding the long-term trend, the new global mean sea level record accuracy now approaches the GCOS requirements (of ~0.3 mm/year). Regional trend uncertainty has been reduced by a factor of ~2, but orbital and wet tropospheric corrections errors still prevent fully reaching the GCOS accuracy requirement. Similarly at the interannual time scale, the global mean sea level still displays 2–4 mm errors that are not yet fully understood. The recent launch of new altimetry missions (Sentinel-3, Jason-3) and the inclusion of data from currently flying missions (e.g., CryoSat, SARAL/AltiKa) may provide further improvements to this important climate record.     

Greenland and Antarctica Ice Sheet Mass Changes and Effects on Global Sea Level

Thirteen years of GRACE data provide an excellent picture of the current mass changes of Greenland and Antarctica, with mass loss in the GRACE period 2002–2015 amounting to 265 ± 25 GT/year for Greenland (including peripheral ice caps), and 95 ± 50 GT/year for Antarctica, corresponding to 0.72 and 0.26 mm/year average global sea level change. A significant acceleration in mass loss rate is found, especially for Antarctica, while Greenland mass loss, after a corresponding acceleration period, and a record mass loss in the summer of 2012, has seen a slight decrease in short-term mass loss trend. The yearly mass balance estimates, based on point mass inversion methods, have relatively large errors, both due to uncertainties in the glacial isostatic adjustment processes, especially for Antarctica, leakage from unmodelled ocean mass changes, and (for Greenland) difficulties in separating mass signals from the Greenland ice sheet and the adjacent Canadian ice caps. The limited resolution of GRACE affects the uncertainty of total mass loss to a smaller degree; we illustrate the “real” sources of mass changes by including satellite altimetry elevation change results in a joint inversion with GRACE, showing that mass change occurs primarily associated with major outlet glaciers, as well as a narrow coastal band. For Antarctica, the primary changes are associated with the major outlet glaciers in West Antarctica (Pine Island and Thwaites Glacier systems), as well as on the Antarctic Peninsula, where major glacier accelerations have been observed after the 2002 collapse of the Larsen B Ice Shelf.     

GOCE Quick-Look Gravity Solution: Application of the Semianalytic Approach in the Case of Data Gaps and Non-Repeat Orbits

The satellite mission GOCE (Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer), the first Core Mission of the Earth Explorer Programme funded by ESA (European Space Agency), is dedicated to the precise modelling of the Earth's gravity field, with its launch planned for 2006. The mathematical models for parameterizing the Earth's gravity field are based on a series expansion into spherical harmonics, yielding a huge number of unknown coefficients. Their computation leads to the solution of very large normal equation systems. An efficient way to handle these equation systems is the so-called semianalytic or lumped coefficients approach, which theoretically requires an uninterrupted, continuous time series of observations, recorded along an exact circular repeat orbit. In this paper the consequences of violating these conditions are analyzed. The effects of an interrupted observation stream onto the estimated spherical harmonic coefficients are demonstrated, and an iterative strategy, which reduces the negative influence depending on the characteristics of the data gaps, is proposed. Additionally, the impact of an imperfectly closing orbit (non-repeat orbit) on the gravity field model is analyzed, and a strategy to minimize the corresponding errors is presented. The applicability of the semianalytic approach also to a joint inversion of satellite-to-satellite tracking data in high-low mode (hl-SST) and satellite gravity gradiometry (SGG) observations is demonstrated, where the analysis of the former component is based on the energy conservation law. Several realistic case studies prove that the semianalytic approach is a feasible tool to generate quick-look gravity solutions, i.e. fast coefficient estimates using only partial data sets. This quick-look analysis shall be able to detect potential distortions of statistical significance (e.g. systematic errors) in the input data, and to give a fast feedback to the GOCE mission control.     

Ice Sheets and Sea Level: Thinking Outside the Box

Until quite recently, the mass balance (MB) of the great ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica was poorly known and often treated as a residual in the budget of oceanic mass and sea level change. Recent developments in regional climate modelling and remote sensing, especially altimetry, gravimetry and InSAR feature tracking, have enabled us to specifically resolve the ice sheet mass balance components at a near-annual timescale. The results reveal significant mass losses for both ice sheets, caused by the acceleration of marine-terminating glaciers in southeast, west and northwest Greenland and coastal West Antarctica, and increased run-off in Greenland. At the same time, the data show that interannual variability is very significant, masking the underlying trends.