Operational Applications and Future Satellite Gravity Missions

Matt Rodell
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Water resources assessments, operational weather and climate predictions, and river flow forecasts, among other applications of societal importance, would benefit from the addition of new or improved hydrological observations. GRACE has proven that terrestrial water storage variations can be derived from a satellite gravimetry mission with enough precision to contribute to water cycle science, and because these observations are independent of the measurements and analyses that normally feed into decision support tools and models, they have the potential to improve water resources management and predictions. This presentation will describe ongoing projects which are attempting to apply GRACE observations for water resources assessments, the challenges faced, and implications for future satellite gravity missions.