A global assessment of accelerations in surface mass transport

Abstract

Water mass transport in the Earth's dynamic surface layer of atmosphere, cryosphere, and hydrosphere driven by various global change processes has complex spatiotemporal patterns. Here we determine global patterns and regional mean values of accelerations in surface mass variations during the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission's data span from 2002.2 to 2015.0. GRACE gravity data are supplemented by surface deformation from 607 Global Navigation Satellite System stations, an ocean bottom pressure model, satellite laser ranging, and loose a priori knowledge on mass variation regimes incorporating high-resolution geographic boundaries. While Greenland and West Antarctica have strong negative accelerations, Alaska and the Arctic Ocean show significant positive accelerations. In addition, the accelerations are not constant in time with some regions showing considerable variability due to irregular interannual changes. No evidence of significant nonsteric mean sea level acceleration has been found, but the uncertainty is quite large.