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For 15 Years, GRACE Tracked Freshwater Movements Around the World

NASA scientists used GRACE data to identify regional trends of freshwater movement, and combined that information with data from other satellites, climate models and precipitation measurements to determine the causes of major regional trends in freshwater storage.

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NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

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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.
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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 where our planet’s water is going, even when it is underground.
Scale in the Sky
GRACE Follow-On will test a Laser Ranging Interferometer to measure intersatellite distance changes with unprecedented precision. 
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GRACE Follow-On – the future of satellite geodesy. Launching in 2017, this mission will be the first to use a Laser Ranging Interferometer to measure intersatellite distance changes with unprecedented precision.
Laser Ranging Interferometer
Flames from the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launching GRACE-FO into orbit.
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A close-up of the flames from the rocket launching GRACE-FO.
Rocket Flames
The rocket carrying GRACE-FO lifts off into a blue sky, with the Pacific Ocean beneath it.
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The rocket carrying GRACE-FO lifts off into a blue sky, with the Pacific Ocean beneath it.
GRACE-FO Launch, Sky and Sea
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is seen with the NASA/German Research Centre for Geosciences GRACE Follow-On spacecraft onboard at Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. 
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The SpaceX Falcon 9 that will carry GRACE-FO to orbit sits on the launchpad.
GRACE-FO in Falcon 9 on Launchpad
GRACE-Follow On (GRACE-FO) is a satellite mission that launched in May 2018. GRACE-FO will continue the work of the GRACE satellite mission tracking Earth's water movement around the globe. These d...
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Video for the GRACE-FO mission.
Tracking Water from Space
A long exposure of the  GRACE-FO launch from Vandenberg
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The rocket's blaze is seen across the sky in this long exposure view with the ocean in the foreground.
GRACE-FO Launch, Long Exposure
Monthly changes in ocean bottom pressure data obtained by the GRACE satellites from November 2002 to January 2012. 
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Monthly changes in ocean bottom pressure data obtained by the GRACE satellites from November 2002 to January 2012.
Ocean Bottom Pressure 2002-2012
Between 2002 and 2016, Antarctica shed approximately 125 gigatons of ice per year, causing global sea level to rise by 0.35 millimeters per year.
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Between 2002 and 2016, Antarctica shed approximately 125 gigatons of ice per year, causing global sea level to rise by 0.35 millimeters per year.
Antarctic Ice Loss 2002-2016
NASA JPL-UC Irvine glaciologist Eric Rignot explains how glaciers in West Antarctica are changing. 
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NASA JPL-UC Irvine glaciologist Eric Rignot explains how glaciers in West Antarctica are changing.
West Antarctic Collapse
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. 
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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
NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) has measured significant groundwater depletion around the world in recent years. 
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GRACE data over the United States, 2003-2012
GRACE Sees Groundwater Losses Around the World
Visualization of the mass change over Greenland from January 2004 through June 2014. 
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Mass changes in Greenland.
GRACE Mission Measures Global Ice Mass Changes
Research based on GRACE observations indicates that between 2002 and 2016, Greenland shed approximately 280 gigatons of ice per year.
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Mass of the Greenland ice sheet has rapidly declined in the last several years. Research based on observations from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites indicates that between 2002 and 2016, Greenland shed approximately 280 gigatons of ice per year.
Greenland Ice Loss 2002-2016
The twin satellites of NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-on, or GRACE-FO, will track the movement of water around Earth. This short video explains how and why it's important.
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Explaining why GRACE-FO is so important.
Why Is GRACE-FO So Important?
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. 
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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
This visualization displays monthly GRACE data in the Amazon basin, demonstrating water storage and movement. 
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This visualization displays monthly GRACE data in the Amazon basin. GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) measures mass distribution and in this instance is used to demonstrate water storage and movement in the basin.
Amazon Basin Monthly GRACE Data
The NASA/German Research Centre for Geosciences GRACE Follow-On spacecraft launches from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
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The rocket carrying GRACE-FO blasts off from the launch pad.
GRACE-FO Launches, Wide Shot
Work begins to build NASA’s twin satellites, under construction by Airbus Defense and Space.
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NASA’s twin satellites, under construction by Airbus Defense and Space, will be the follow-on spacecraft of the GRACE mission, which have contributed significantly to global climate research since 2002.
Build Commences on GRACE-FO Satellites
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...
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Image of the spacecraft in orbit over Earth, with the black of space.
GRACE-FO Launch Press Kit
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...
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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 mountain glaciers are melting.
15 Years of GRACE Earth Observations
Gravity variations studied by GRACE can be used to determine ground water storage on land masses. 
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Gravity variations studied by GRACE can be used to determine ground water storage on land masses. By comparing current data to an average over time, scientists can generate an anomaly map to see where ground water storage has been depleted or increased.
Global Terrestrial Water Storage Anomaly
The twin GRACE-FO satellites will pick up where the GRACE mission (2002-2017) left off, studying our changing planet.
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Video reel for media on the GRACE-FO mission to study Earth.
GRACE Follow-On Media Reel
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.
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The rocket carrying GRACE-FO blasts off from the launch pad, with the ocean in the foreground.
GRACE-FO Launches, Ocean View
While the two spacecraft of the GRACE-FO mission go through testing at the IABG facitilty in Germany, engineers deploy the S-Band antenna boom to ensure that it works.
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While the two spacecraft of the GRACE-FO mission go through testing at the IABG facitilty in Germany, engineers deploy the S-Band antenna boom to ensure that it works.
Airbus Tests GRACE-FO Antenna Boom

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