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Description

This data set is produced by the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) as part of the GRACE-FO (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On) program and derives the terrestrial water storage anomaly given as equivalent water thickness. These monthly grids are derived from GRACE-FO time-variable gravity observations during the specified timespan, and relative to the specified time-mean reference period. This quantity represents the total terrestrial water storage anomalies from soil moisture, snow, surface water (incl. rivers, lakes, reservoirs etc.), as well as groundwater and aquifers. A glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) correction has been applied, and standard corrections for geocenter (degree-1), C20 (degree-20) and C30 (degree-30) are incorporated. Post-processing filters have been applied to reduce correlated errors. Data grids are provided in ASCII/netCDF/GeoTIFF formats.
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GRACE-FO was launched on 22 May 2018, and extends the original GRACE mission (2002 – 2017) and expands its legacy of scientific achievements in tracking earth surface mass changes. Version 04 (v04) of the terrestrial water storage data uses updated and consistent C20 and Geocenter corrections (i.e., Technical Notes TN-14 and TN-13), as well as an ellipsoidal correction to account for the non-spherical shape of the Earth when mapping gravity anomalies to surface mass change. Additionally, this release 06.3 is an updated version of the Level 3 products in coordination with the release of the analogous Level 2 products used to generate them. It differs from RL06.1 only in the Level-1B accelerometer transplant data that is used for the GF2 (GRACE-FO 2) satellite; see respective L-2 data descriptions. RL06.3 uses the ACX2-L1B data products. All GRACE-FO RL06.3 Level-3 fields are fully compatible with the GRACE RL06 data.

Product Summary

Platforms
GRACE-FO
Instruments
GRACE-FO MWI ,
GRACE-FO LRI ,
GRACE-FO ACC ,
GRACE-FO SCA
Spatial Extent

N: 89.5 S: -89.5 E: 180 W: -180

Spatial Resolution
1 Decimal Degrees x 1 Decimal Degrees
Location
GLOBAL
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
CARTESIAN
Temporal Extent
2018-05-22
Data Partner
GRACE Tellus, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA (NASA/JPL/GRACE-TELLUS-0001) ,
Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA (NASA/JPL/PODAAC)
Concept ID
C3193293825-POCLOUD
Data State
ACTIVE
Number of Files/Granules
88
Processing Level
3
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Terrestrial Water Storage

Citation

Citation is critically important for dataset documentation and discovery. This dataset is openly shared, without restriction, in accordance with the EOSDIS Data Use and Citation Guidance.

Copy Citation

GRACE-FO, F. L. (2024). GFZ TELLUS GRACE-FO Level-3 Monthly Land Water-Equivalent-Thickness Surface Mass Anomaly Release 6.3 version 04 [Data set]. NASA Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/GFLND-3G634 Date Accessed: 2026-02-11

Documents

Variables

The table below lists the variables contained within a single granule for this dataset. Variables often contain observed or derived geophysical measurements collected from a variety of sources, including remote sensing instruments on satellite and airborne platforms, field campaigns, in situ measurements, and model outputs. The terms variable, parameter, scientific data set, layer, and band have been used across NASA’s Earth science disciplines; however, variable is the designated nomenclature in NASA’s Common Metadata Repository (CMR). Variable metadata attributes such as Name, Description, Units, Data Type, Fill Value, Valid Range, and Scale Factor allow users to efficiently process and analyze the data. The full range of attributes may not be applicable to all variables. Additional information on variable attributes is typically available in the data, user guide, and/or other product documentation.

For questions on a specific variable, please use the Earthdata Forum.

Name Description Units Data Type Fill Value Valid Range Scale Factor
lat latitude value at each pixel degrees_north double N/A -89.5 to 89.5 1
lat_bounds latitude values at the north and south bounds of each pixel degrees_north double N/A N/A 1
lon longitude value at each pixel degrees_east double N/A 0.5 to 359.5 1
lon_bounds longitude values at the west and east bounds of each pixel degrees_east double N/A N/A 1
lwe_thickness none m double -99999 -30 to 30 1
time time days since 2002-01-01T00:00:00 double N/A N/A 1
time_bounds time bounds for each time value, i.e., the first day and last day included in the monthly solution days since 2002-01-01T00:00:00 double N/A N/A 1
uncertainty none m double -99999 -30 to 30 1
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