Low and high flow analyses and wavelet application for characterization of the Blue Nile River system

The low and high flow characteristic of the Blue Nile River (BNR) basin is presented. The study discusses low and high flow, flow duration curve (FDC) and trend analysis of the BNR and its major tributaries. Different probability density functions were fitted to better describe the low and high flows of the BNR and major tributaries in the basin. Wavelet analysis was used in understanding the variance and frequency‐time localization and detection of dominant oscillations in rainfall and flow. FDCs were developed, and low flow (below 50% exceedance) and high flow (over 75% exceedance) of the curves were analysed and compared. The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite‐based maps of monthly changes in gravity converted to water equivalents from 2003 to 2006 for February, May and September showed an increase in the moisture influx in the BNR basin for the month of September, and loss of moisture in February and May. It was also shown that 2004 and 2005 were drier with less moisture influx compared to 2003 and 2006. On the basis of the Kolmogorov‐Smirnov, Anderson‐Darling and Chi‐square tests, Gen. Pareto, Frechet 3P, Log‐normal, Log‐logistics, Fatigue Life and Phased Bi‐Weibull distributions best describe the low and high flows within the BNR basin. This will be beneficial in developing flow hydrographs for similar ungauged watersheds within the BNR basin. The below 50% and above 75% exceedance on the FDC for five major rivers in addition to the BNR showed different characteristics depending on size, land cover, topography and other factors. The low flow frequency analysis of the BNR at Bahir Dar showed 0·55 m³/s as the monthly low flow with recurrence interval of 10 years. The wavelet analysis of the rainfall (at Bahir Dar and basin‐wide) and flows at three selected stations shows inter‐ and intra‐annual variability of rainfall and flows at various scales. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Integral inversion of SST data of type GRACE

Satellite missions CHAMP and GRACE dedicated to global mapping of the Earth’s gravity field yield accurate satellite-to-satellite tracking (SST) data used for recovery of global geopotential models usually in a form of a finite set of Stokes’s coefficients. The US-German Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment (GRACE) yields SST data in both the high-low and low-low mode. Observed satellite positions and changes in the intersatellite range can be inverted through the Newtonian equation of motion into values of the unknown geopotential. The geopotential is usually approximated in observation equations by a truncated harmonic series with unknown coefficients. An alternative approach based on integral inversion of the SST data of type GRACE into discrete values of the geopotential at a geocentric sphere is discussed in this article. In this approach, observation equations have a form of Green’s surface integrals with scalar-valued integral kernels. Despite their higher complexity, the kernel functions exhibit features typical for other integral kernels used in geodesy for inversion of gravity field data. The two approaches are discussed and compared based on their relative advantages and intended applications. The combination of heterogeneous gravity data through integral equations is also outlined in the article. panovak@kma.zcu.cz     

Groundwater storage change detection from in situ and GRACE-based estimates in major river basins across India

ABSTRACT

India has been the subject of many recent groundwater studies due to the rapid depletion of groundwater in large parts of the country. However, few if any of these studies have examined groundwater storage conditions in all of India’s river basins individually. Herein we assess groundwater storage changes in all 22 of India’s major river basins using in situ data from 3420 observation locations for the period 2003–2014. One-month and 12-month standardized precipitation index measures (SPI-1 and SPI-12) indicate fluctuations in the long-term pattern. The Ganges and Brahmaputra basins experienced long-term decreasing trends in precipitation in both 1961–2014 and the study period, 2003–2014. Indeterminate or increasing precipitation trends occurred in other basins. Satellite-based and in situ groundwater storage time series exhibited similar patterns, with increases in most of the basins. However, diminishing groundwater storage (at rates of >0.4 km³/year) was revealed in the Ganges-Brahmaputra River Basin based on in situ observations, which is particularly important due to its agricultural productivity.     

Natural Geological Weighing Lysimeters: Calibration Tools for Satellite and Ground Surface Gravity Monitoring of Subsurface Water-Mass Change

Increased accuracy in measuring temporal variations in the Earth's gravity field allow inprinciple the use of gravity observations to deduce subsurface water-mass changes. This canbe with respect to a small area, or as a larger spatial average of water mass change usinggravity observations from low-altitude satellites, such as the forthcoming GRACE mission.At both scales, there is a need to validate gravity-based estimates against field recordings ofactual subsurface water-mass variations. In practice, this could prove difficult because thespatial integral of all water-storage change components can be subject to considerable fieldmeasurement error. An alternative approach to the validation process is proposed by whichsuitable geological formations are utilized as giant weighing devices to directly measure area-integratedwater-mass changes. The existence of such natural geological weighing lysimetersis demonstrated using observations from a replicated experimental site in New Zealand. Sitesof this type could be used to verify water-storage change estimates derived from sensitiveground surface gravity instrumentation. In addition, geological lysimeters could be used tomake local checks on the accuracy of any estimated regional water-mass time series, whichis proposed for satellite calibration. The land area weighed by a geological lysimeter increaseswith formation depth and it is speculated that recordings made at oil well depth may allowdirect monitoring of subsurface water mass changes at the regional scale.     

Precise orbit determination for the GRACE mission using only GPS data

The GRACE (gravity recovery and climate experiment) satellites, launched in March 2002, are each equipped with a BlackJack GPS onboard receiver for precise orbit determination and gravity field recovery. Since launch, there have been significant improvements in the background force models used for satellite orbit determination, most notably the model for the geopotential. This has resulted in significant improvements to orbit accuracy for very low altitude satellites. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how well the orbits of the GRACE satellites (about 470 km in altitude) can currently be determined using only GPS data and based on the current models and methods. The orbit accuracy is assessed using a number of tests, which include analysis of orbit fits, orbit overlaps, orbit connecting points, satellite Laser ranging residuals and K-band ranging (KBR) residuals. We show that 1-cm radial orbit accuracy for the GRACE satellites has probably been achieved. These precise GRACE orbits can be used for such purposes as improving gravity recovery from the GRACE KBR data and for atmospheric profiling, and they demonstrate the quality of the background force models being used.     

Wiener optimal filtering of GRACE data

We present a spatial averaging method for Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) gravity-field solutions based on the Wiener optimal filtering. The optimal filter is designed from the least-square minimization of the difference between the desired and filtered signals. It requires information about the power spectra of the desired gravitational signal and the contaminating noise, which is inferred from the average GRACE degree-power spectrum. We show that the signal decreases with increasing spherical harmonic degree j with approximately j^−b, where b = 1.5 for GRACE data investigations. This is termed the Second Kaula rule of thumb for temporal variations of the Earth’s gravity field. The degree power of the noise increases, in the logarithmic scale, linearly with increasing j. The Wiener optimal filter obtained for the signal model with b = 1.5 closely corresponds to a Gaussian filter with a spatial half width of 4° (∼440 km). We find that the filtered GRACE gravity signal is relatively insensitive to the exponent b of the signal model, which indicates the robustness of Wiener optimal filtering. This is demonstrated using the GFZ-GRACE gravity-field solution for April 2004.     

利用GRACE空间重力测量监测长江流域水储量的季节性变化

2002年3月成功发射的美德合作重力卫星计划GRACE(Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment)已经开始提供阶次数达到120、时间分辨率为约1个月的地球重力场模型时变序列. GRACE的星座由两颗相距约220 km, 高度保持300~500 km, 而倾角保持约90°的近极轨卫星组成. 由于采用星载GPS和非保守力加速度计等高精度定轨技术以及高精度的星-星跟踪数据反演地球重力场, 在几百公里和更大空间尺度上, GRACE重力场的精度大大超过此前的卫星重力观测. 根据GRACE时变重力场反演的地球系统质量重新分布对固体地球物理、海洋物理、气候学以及大地测量等应用有重要的意义. 在长期时间尺度上, GRACE的结果可用于研究北极冰的变化, 并进而研究极冰融化对全球气候变化, 特别是对海平面长期变化的影响. 在季节性时间尺度上, 利用GRACE重力场的精度足以揭示平均小于1 cm的地表水变化或小于1 mbar的海底压强变化. 除了巨大的社会和经济效益外, 这些变化对了解地球系统的物质循环(主要是水循环)和能量循环有非常重要的意义. 利用2002年4月至2003年12月之间共15个月的GRACE时变重力场揭示了全球水储量的明显季节性变化, 并重点分析了中国长江流域水储量的变化. 结果表明长江流域水储量周年变化幅度可达到3.4 cm等效水高, 其最大值出现在春季和初秋. 根据GRACE时变重力场反演的水储量变化与两个目前最好的全球水文模型的符合相当好, 其差别小于1 cm等效水高. 研究表明现代空间重力测量技术在监测一些大流域的水储量变化(如长江流域)、全球水循环和气候变化上有巨大的应用潜力.     

GRACE时变重力数据后处理方法评价

针对GRACE Level2卫星时变重力数据后处理方法如何评价的问题,该文以中国数字地震观测网络获得的青藏高原地区地面重力变化图像为参考,基于平均结构相似性等图像相似度指标,研究了与该区域地面重力观测同期、不同后处理方法得到的GRACE卫星重力变化图像的可靠性。结果显示,GRACE卫星重力和地面重力观测结果具有一定的可比性,滑动窗口去相关滤波和高斯400 km滤波的组合方法可以获得最优的处理效果。本文的方法和结论对GRACE及GRACE Follow-On卫星重力数据应用中后处理方法和参数的选取有一定的借鉴意义。     

2004年苏门答腊地震前后海面高趋势的变化

利用苏门答腊附近海域T/P、Jason-1测高卫星近20年的海面高连续观测资料,分别计算了该区域(80°E~105°E,5°S~20°N)在2004年苏门答腊大地震前后的海面高变化趋势,并与该区域对应时间段GRACE重力卫星反演的地表质量迁移结果进行比较。研究结果表明,由卫星测高观测资料估算的震区地震前后海平面趋势的变化与卫星重力反演结果基本一致。由于卫星测高沿轨观测具有高精度、高时空分辨率的特性,卫星测高资料估算的海平面趋势变化可以更为准确地反映震区海平面变化的局部特征。还对该区域震后形变特征进行了初步分析。