Fang et al. (2025) On Optimal Parameterization for Mascon Solution of Surface Mass Changes From GRACE(‐FO) Satellite Gravimetry

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Earth and Space Science
• Year: 2025
• Date: 2025-12-27
• Authors: Dong Fang, Jiangjun Ran, Shin‐Chan Han, Natthachet Tangdamrongsub, Zhengwen Yan
• DOI: 10.1029/2025ea004645

Research Groups

Not specified in the provided abstract.

Short Summary

This study develops and evaluates a variable-sized mascon solution for GRACE and GRACE-Follow On data, optimizing mascon parameterization based on satellite orbital coverage to enhance spatial resolution, particularly in polar regions. The optimized scheme significantly reduces parameterization error and noise while improving signal recovery for surface mass changes across various latitudes.

Objective

• To derive and evaluate a variable-sized mascon solution that enhances spatial resolution in polar regions by considering the orbital coverage of satellites, and to quantify its benefits for surface mass change recovery.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Global, with enhanced resolution in polar regions; analysis at basin scales across low-latitude, mid-latitude, and high-latitude zones.
• Temporal Scale: Continuous monitoring over the GRACE and GRACE-Follow On mission lifetimes, focusing on surface mass change time series.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Numerical simulation for evaluating mascon parameterizations; variable-sized mascon solution for processing GRACE(-FO) data.
• Data sources: Synthetic data from numerical simulations; real data from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and GRACE-Follow On (GRACE-FO) missions.

Main Results

• Variable-sized mascons reduce parameterization error by up to 17%.
• Goodness of fit is improved by up to 34%.
• Accuracy of signal recovery for basin scales improves by approximately 23% in low-latitude zones, 34% in mid-latitude zones, and 42% in high-latitude zones.
• When applied to GRACE(-FO) data, the optimized parameterization scheme reduces noise in the surface mass change time series by up to 0.0184 meters.
• The optimally parameterized mascon solution enhances signal recovery in mid-to-high latitude regions.

Contributions

• Introduction and evaluation of a novel variable-sized mascon parameterization scheme that adapts to satellite orbital coverage, specifically designed to enhance spatial resolution in polar regions.
• Quantitative demonstration of the benefits of variable-sized mascons in reducing parameterization error, improving goodness of fit, and enhancing signal recovery across different latitude zones.
• Provision of an optimal mascon parameterization scheme based on both numerical simulations and real GRACE(-FO) data processing, offering a practical improvement for finer-scale mass change signal recovery.

Funding

Not specified in the provided abstract.

Citation

@article{Fang2025Optimal,
  author = {Fang, Dong and Ran, Jiangjun and Han, Shin‐Chan and Tangdamrongsub, Natthachet and Yan, Zhengwen},
  title = {On Optimal Parameterization for Mascon Solution of Surface Mass Changes From GRACE(‐FO) Satellite Gravimetry},
  journal = {Earth and Space Science},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.1029/2025ea004645},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1029/2025ea004645}
}