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    • GRACE FIELD GEOPOTENTIAL COEFFICIENTS GFZ RELEASE 6.0

    Metadata Updated: December 6, 2023

    FOR EXPERT USE ONLY. This dataset contains estimates of static field geopotential of the Earth, derived from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission measurements, produced by the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ). The data are in spherical harmonics averaged over approximately a month. The primary objective of the GRACE mission is to obtain accurate estimates of the mean and time-variable components of the gravity field variations. This objective is achieved by making continuous measurements of the change in distance between twin spacecraft, co-orbiting in about 500 km altitude, near circular, polar orbit, spaced approximately 200 km apart, using a microwave ranging system. In addition to these range change, the non-gravitional forces are measured on each satellite using a high accuracy electrostatic, room-temperature accelerometer. The satellite orientation and position (and timing) are precisely measured using twin star cameras and a GPS receiver, respectively. Spatial and temporal variations in the gravity field affect the orbits (or trajectories) of the twin spacecraft differently. These differences are manifested as changes in the distance between the spacecraft, as they orbit the Earth. This change in distance is reflected in the time-of-flight of microwave signals transmitted and received nearly simultaneously between the two spacecraft. The change in this time of fight is continuously measured by tracking the phase of the microwave carrier signals. The so called dual-one-way range change measurements can be reconstructed from these phase measurements. This range change (or its numerically derived derivatives), along with other mission and ancillary data, is subsequently analyzed to extract the parameters of an Earth gravity field model.

    Access & Use Information

    Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

    Downloads & Resources

    Dates

    Metadata Created Date May 30, 2023
    Metadata Updated Date December 6, 2023

    Metadata Source

    Harvested from NASA Data.json

    Other Data Resources

    Graphic Preview

    Thumbnail

    Additional Metadata

    Resource Type Dataset
    Metadata Created Date May 30, 2023
    Metadata Updated Date December 6, 2023
    Publisher NASA/JPL/PODAAC
    Maintainer
    Identifier C2491772132-POCLOUD
    Data First Published 2018-08-06
    Language en-US
    Data Last Modified 2018-08-06
    Category GRACE, geospatial
    Public Access Level public
    Bureau Code 026:00
    Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
    Metadata Catalog ID https://data.nasa.gov/data.json
    Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
    Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
    Citation GRACE. 2018-08-31. GRACE Monthly Geopotential Spherical Harmonic Coefficients GFZ (GSM). Version 6.0. GRACE_GSM_L2_GRAV_GFZ_RL06. JPL. Archived by National Aeronautics and Space Administration, U.S. Government, GFZ. https://doi.org/10.5880/GFZ.GRACE_06_GSM. https://podaac-tools.jpl.nasa.gov/drive/files/allData/grace/docs/. GRACE, GFZ, 2018-08-31, GRACE FIELD GEOPOTENTIAL COEFFICIENTS GFZ RELEASE 6.0, https://podaac-tools.jpl.nasa.gov/drive/files/allData/grace/docs/.
    Creator GRACE
    Graphic Preview Description Thumbnail
    Graphic Preview File https://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/Podaac/thumbnails/GRACE_GSM_L2_GRAV_GFZ_RL06.jpg
    Harvest Object Id 05db2870-fd65-4b3c-9005-68acdb7d05bb
    Harvest Source Id 58f92550-7a01-4f00-b1b2-8dc953bd598f
    Harvest Source Title NASA Data.json
    Homepage URL https://doi.org/10.5880/GFZ.GRACE_06_GSM
    Metadata Type geospatial
    Old Spatial -180.0 -88.0 180.0 88.0
    Program Code 026:001
    Release Place JPL
    Series Name GRACE Monthly Geopotential Spherical Harmonic Coefficients GFZ (GSM)
    Source Datajson Identifier True
    Source Hash ca402eac2900d0d5497190990d60c8ab5869328239f6afffa58483faa0d3553f
    Source Schema Version 1.1
    Spatial
    Temporal 2002-04-05T00:00:00Z/2017-07-01T00:00:00Z

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