Key Points GRACE detects the groundwater depletion in North China. Official report underestimates the groundwater depletion rate in North China. High groundwater depletion exists in Beijing and Hebei province.

A global network of superconducting gravimeters (SGs) is compiling significant data for a range of important studies spanning a number of disciplines concerned with the Earth's gravity, tides, environment, and geodetics. Among phenomena being looked at are seismic normal modes, the Slichter triplet, tidal gravity, ocean tidal loading, core nutations, and core modes. Hydrologists and volcanologists also may benefit from SG data. The network was set up by the Global Geodynamics Project (GGP),an international program of observations of temporal variations in the Earth's gravity field. Observations began in 1997 and will continue until 2003. Eighteen SGs currently are in operation in the network (see Figures 1 and 2).

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