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March 18, 2009

Ocean circulation, climate and gravity

The Earth explorer satellite GOCE (Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer), built by the European Space Agency ESA, was successfully launched today at 15:21 GMT from the Russian Cosmodrome Plesetsk. GOCE is the first satellite mission within the framework of the Living Planet Programme of ESA and will map Earth's gravity field in unprecedented detail.

From the data obtained, the GFZ - German Research Centre for Geosciences will calculate its own, high resolution gravity field. "The accuracy of the depiction of the Earth's gravity field, well known as the 'Potsdam Gravity Potato' will now be enhanced by orders of magnitude", says Prof. Dr. Hüttl, Scientific Executive Director of the GFZ. The GFZ, which looks back on many years of experience in analysis of satellite-based gravity field, measurements participates in the evaluation of GOCE data as a co-operating partner within the framework of the so called High Level Processing Facility (HPF) under the Project Managment of the Technical University Munich and together with scientific institutions from Germany, France, Denmark, Italy, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

GOCE will map the Earth's gravity field with a spatial resolution of approx. 100 km which is considerably more precise than all gravity satellite missions to date. One of the most important scientific goals of the GOCE mission will be the study of the global ocean currents. Ocean currents cause deviations of the sea-level from its equilibrium state with respect to the Earth's gravity field. This deviations, which are commonly known as ocean topography can amount up to two metres in height .
Conclusions on the ocean circulation in association with climate changes can be drawn from knowledge on the ocean topography. "By combining GOCE-measurement data with sea-level hights measured by other satellites, it will be possible for the first time to directly measure the ocean topography and its possible changes", explains Dr. Frank Flechtner, who processes gravity field data at GFZ. This will be a new contribution to our knowledge of the ocean and its variation due to climate change.

Further scientific objectives of the GOCE Mission are the determination of the structure of the Earth's crust and the mantel convection as well as the generation of a unique precise global height reference system, which is essential for the precise monitoring of the sea-level and the understanding of its changes.

The key sensor for the gravity measurement on the GOCE satellite is a gravity gradiometer, which is now flown for the first time onboard a satellite. In order to achieve the required high measuring-precision, GOCE orbits the earth at a very low altitude of approx. 250 km. Therefore the satellite is equipped with an ion propulsion engine as a so-called Drag Free Control System, which compensates the non-gravitational forces on the satellite and allows practically for flight in a pure free fall around the earth. Furthermore, GOCE is equipped with a scientific GPS-receiver, made in Europe, which will be used for the first time on board a satellite to determine the GOCE orbit position with centimetre-accuracy.

Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres

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Soil moisture and ocean salinity satellite ready for launch
A new European Earth observation satellite will be launched in the early hours of Monday morning (2 November 2009) from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia.

Satellites unlock secret to northern India's vanishing water
Using NASA satellite data, scientists have found that groundwater levels in northern India have been declining by as much as one foot per year over the past decade. Researchers concluded the loss is almost entirely due to human activity.

Melting threat from West Antarctic Ice Sheet may be less than expected, could hit US hardest
While a total or partial collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet as a result of warming would not raise global sea levels as high as some predict, levels on the U.S. seaboards would rise 25 percent more than the global average and threaten cities like New York, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, according to a new study.

Threat from West Antarctica less than previously believed
The potential contribution to sea level rise from a collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) have been greatly overestimated, according to a new study published in the journal Science.

Titan may have subsurface ocean of hydrocarbons, says Stanford researcher
Saturn's largest moon, Titan, may have a subterranean ocean of hydrocarbons and some topsy-turvy topography in which the summits of its mountains lie lower than its average surface elevation, according to new research.

March launch planned for ESA's gravity mission
ESA is now gearing up to return to Russia to oversee preparations for the launch of its GOCE satellite - now envisaged for launch on 16 March 2009.

Understanding Europe's topography
Europe's shape is in a constant change: The Mediterranean basin is shrinking, the Alps are rising and pushing North, and Scandinavia is still rebounding after having been crushed by the weight of a thick and huge ice sheet in the ice ages. But what did Europe look like in the past, what are the processes controlling all these changes and what has the future in store for us? And how does the topography influence the climate of Europe on geological time scales?

Measuring water from space
Observations from satellites now allow scientists to monitor changes to water levels in the sea, in rivers and lakes, in ice sheets and even under the ground. As the climate changes, this information will be crucial for monitoring its effects and predicting future impacts in different regions.

When it comes to sea level changing glaciers, new NASA technique measures up
A NASA-led research team has used satellite data to make the most precise measurements to date of changes in the mass of mountain glaciers in the Gulf of Alaska, a region expected to be a significant contributor to global sea level rise over the next 50-100 years.

GOCE Earth Explorer satellite to look at the Earth's surface and core
The European Space Agency is about to launch the most sophisticated mission ever to investigate the Earth's gravitational field and to map the reference shape of our planet - the geoid - with unprecedented resolution and accuracy.

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