Project Details
Projekt
Spatial and temporal resolution limits for regional mass transport and mass distribution
Applicants
Privatdozentin Dr.-Ing. Luciana Fenoglio-Marc, Ph.D.; Professor Dr.-Ing. Jürgen Kusche; Professor Dr. Lucas Menzel; Professor Dr. Emil Vassilev Stanev
Subject Area
Geophysics and Geodesy
Term
from 2006 to 2011
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 30081099
The study estimates the regional mass transport and mass distribution in the Mediterranean and Black Sea catchments. It is based on a combination of altimetry, GRACE gravity fields, oceanography and hydrology. Main topics are the coupling of continental hydrology with oceanography in coastal oceans and the water balance closure at the straits. The GRACE derived time-variable mass change, with spatial accuracy improved by advanced filtering ap-proaches, is regionally compared to estimates of non-steric sea level change from altimeter observations. The construction of a regional harmonised multi-mission altimeter dataset is a key point for both high resolution sea level change analysis and assimilation of altimeter data in the regional ocean models. Environmental corrections for altimetry and GRACE data are assessed and homogenized for the comparison of gravimetric and altimetric signals. A state of the art ocean general circulation model with a high spatial resolution and realistic forcing is applied to the Mediterranean-Black Sea region and run both with and without assimilation of altimeter data. It simulates steric and salinity contributions, flow and water mass characteris-tics and aims at an improved understanding of the basic physical controls. Finally, we quan-tify the importance of using GRACE (and later GOCE) data regionally in areas dominated by continental shelf and steep topography breaks. Important inputs are the continental water storage and hydrological water cycle in the watershed areas obtained from other groups in the SPP 1257 and from the climate models. The joint assessment of mass changes brings all (gravimetric, altimetric and oceanographic) components together to derive the mass balance and the mass exchange for the whole area.
DFG Programme
Priority Programmes
Participating Person
Professor Dr.-Ing. Matthias Becker
