NASA
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
California Institute of Technology
Skip Navigation
menu
close modal
Stay Connected
Gallery
Gravity Anomaly Map Using GRACE Data
Gravity anomaly map using GRACE data.
ENLARGE
Related
Flames from the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launching GRACE-FO into orbit.
Rocket Flames
Gravity variations studied by GRACE can be used to determine ground water storage on land masses.
Global Terrestrial Water Storage Anomaly
The force of gravity not only keeps us from floating away, it also lets NASA study Earth’s water and ice from space. Using a pair of twin satellites named GRACE, we can monitor our planet’s water.
Scale in the Sky
GRACE Rendering
GRACE Rendering
Changes in total water storage on Earth in 2007, as measured by GRACE.
Water Storage on Earth in 2007
Changes in Australia's mass observed by GRACE in 2010 and 2011. Areas in greens and blues had the greatest increases in mass, caused by unusually high precipitation connected with a large La Niña e...
Changes in Australia's Mass Observed by GRACE in 2010 and 2011
Illustration of GRACE-FO above Alaska.
Illustration of GRACE-FO Above Alaska
The NASA/German Research Centre for Geosciences GRACE Follow-On spacecraft launches from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
GRACE-FO Launches, Wide Shot
The two GRACE-FO satellites are seen from GFZ’s Satellite Laser Ranging Station in Potsdam, Germany, on May 23, 2018 at 22:16 UTC and 22:17 UTC, respectively.
GRACE-FO Satellites From Potsdam
The GRACE-FO satellites, attached to turntable fixtures, at the Astrotech Space Operations processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
GRACE-FO Satellites at Vandenberg
GRACE-FO mission logo
GRACE-FO Logo
Monthly changes in ocean bottom pressure data obtained by the GRACE satellites from November 2002 to January 2012.
Ocean Bottom Pressure 2002-2012
Illustration of GRACE-FO in orbit (view 3).
GRACE-FO in Orbit (View 3)
An animation showing “sea level fingerprints,” or patterns of rising and falling sea levels across the globe in response to changes in Earth’s gravitational and rotational fields.
Cumulative Sea Level Change 2002-2015
The rainy and dry seasons in the Amazon Basin in 2004, revealed by gravity anomalies observed by GRACE. Reds and pinks show where and when mass was higher than average, a sign that more water was p...
Rainy and Dry Seasons in the Amazon (2004)
Illustration of GRACE-FO in orbit (view 5).
GRACE-FO in Orbit (View 5)
GRACE Follow-On (GRACE-FO) continues the legacy of GRACE, tracking Earth’s water movement and surface mass changes across the planet. Monitoring changes in ice sheets and glaciers, near-surface and...
GRACE-FO Mission Brochure
A map of groundwater storage trends for Earth's 37 largest aquifers using GRACE data, showing depletion and replenishment in millimeters of water per year.
Map of Groundwater Storage Trends for Earth's 37 Largest Aquifers
The NASA/German Research Centre for Geosciences GRACE Follow-On spacecraft launches onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9, May 22, 2018, from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
GRACE-FO Launches, Ocean View
This animation shows the annual water storage changes over the U.S. from GRACE from 2003 - 2013.
Annual Water Storage Changes over the U.S. from GRACE
This image shows the mean annual amplitude of total water storage on Earth in 2007 as measured by GRACE.
Total Water Storage from GRACE, 2007
For 15 years, the GRACE mission has unlocked mysteries of how water moves around our planet. It gave us the first view of underground aquifers from space, and shows how fast polar ice sheets and mo...
15 Years of GRACE Earth Observations
GRACE-FO will measure Atlantic Ocean bottom pressure as an indicator of deep ocean current speed, as GRACE did.
Ocean Bottom Pressure
A GRACE-FO satellite and its turntable fixture at the Astrotech Space Operations processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
GRACE-FO Satellite on a Turntable Before Launch
Many of today’s most pressing climate science challenges hinge on knowing how and where water is moving on Earth. GRACE-FO will continue the successful partnership between NASA and the German Resea...
GRACE-FO Launch Press Kit
You Might Also Like
The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment-Continuity mission will extend a decades-long record of following shifting water masses using gravity measurements.
US, Germany Partnering on Mission to Track Earth's Water Movement
This immersive experience leverages satellite data to illustrate how climate change is impacting Earth’s water cycle.
Google's ‘A Passage of Water' Brings NASA's Water Data to Life
Early data shows the greatest net gain of water over the winter in nearly 22 years, but the state’s groundwater levels still suffer from the effects of years of drought.
US-German Satellites Show California Water Gains After Record Winter
Scientists have predicted that droughts and floods will become more frequent and severe as our planet warms and climate changes, but detecting this on regional and continental scales has proven difficult. Now a new NASA-led study confirms that major droughts and pluvials – periods of excessive precipitation and water storage on land – have indeed been occurring more often.
Warming Makes Droughts, Extreme Wet Events More Frequent, Intense
In a recent study, scientists found that a previously unmeasured source – water percolating through soil and fractured rock below California’s Sierra Nevada mountains – delivers an average of 4 million acre feet (5 cubic kilometers) of water to the state’s Central Valley each year. This underground source accounts for about 10% of all the water that enters this highly productive farmland each year from every source (including river inflows and precipitation).
NASA Measures Underground Water Flowing From Sierra to Central Valley
Researchers have untangled puzzling patterns of sinking and rising land to pin down the underground locations where water is being pumped for irrigation.
NASA Finds New Way to Monitor Underground Water Loss