The Mass Change Designated Observable Study: Overview and Results

Abstract

The 2017–2027 United States National Academy of Sciences Decadal Survey (DS) for Earth Science and Applications from Space identified Mass Change (MC) as one of five Designated Observables (DOs) having the highest priority in terms of Earth observations required to advance Earth system science over the next decade. In response to this designation, NASA initiated several multi‐center studies, with the goal of recommending observing system architectures for each DO for implementation within this decade. This paper provides an overview of the Mass Change Designated Observable (MCDO) Study along with key findings. The study process included: (a) generation of a Science and Applications Traceability Matrix (SATM) that maps required measurement parameters to the DS Science and Applications Objectives; (b) identification of three architecture classes relevant for measuring mass change: Precise Orbit Determination (POD), Satellite‐Satellite‐Tracking (SST) and Gravity Gradiometry (GG), along with variants within each architecture class; and (c) creation of a Value Framework process that considers science value, cost, risk, schedule, and partnership opportunities, to identify and recommend high value observing systems for further in‐depth study. The study team recommended the implementation of an SST architecture, and identified variants that simultaneously (a) satisfy the baseline measurement parameters of the SATM; (b) maximize the probability of providing overlap with the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow‐On (GRACE‐FO) mission currently in operation, accelerating science return from both missions; and (c) provide a pathway towards substantial improvements in resolution and accuracy of mass change data products relative to the program of record.

Impacts of SLR Ground Station Geographic Distribution on Time‐Variable Gravity Recovery

“…Our simulation procedure follows from Tucker et al. (2022), who applied established methods for simulating mass‐change recovery to SLR (e.g., Deccia et al., 2022; Loomis et al., 2012; Wiese et al., 2022). The overall workflow will be briefly described here.…”

Mass-Balance-Consistent Geological Stock Accounting: A New Approach toward Sustainable Management of Mineral Resources

“…Monitoring dynamic changes of physical stocks and flows of materials and energy in the socioeconomic metabolism or physical economy reveals how we as producers and consumers of goods and services depend on, and shape, the anthropogenic and natural environment. The birth of industrial dynamics in the late 1950s, industrial metabolism , in the 1980s, and industrial ecology , in the 1990s, have laid the groundwork for using integrated system approaches as tools for natural resource management, circular economy efforts, and sustainable development. − Since the first formal “materials balance approach” of the U.S. economy was published in 1969, MFA has become a well-established method for modeling anthropogenic and natural physical systems at multiple scales, from single-unit processes at the facility level, to complex global material and energy systems. , MFA builds on the basic principle of conservation of mass, derived from the First Law of Thermodynamics. , Throughout history, conservation of mass (MB-consistency) has been recognized as fundamental in chemistry, , forestry, − glaciology, − hydrology, − climatology, , as well as in geology, − petroleum reservoir modeling, , mineral processing, , and urban metabolism studies. , MFA formalizes MB-consistency for physical accounting (materials accounting) by requiring that (i) the system boundary be explicitly defined in space and time, (ii) stocks and flows be expressed in consistent physical (nonmonetary) units, and (iii) mass and energy be in balance across transformation, distribution, and storage processes in the system. , Materials occupy space and can only be accounted for if the system boundary and the processes are clearly defined in space (3D) and time, e.g., to quantify natural groundwater flows in the Earth’s subsurface, or to model the material stock in houses in the built environment. 2D geospatial data are insufficient, as they can only indicate where materials are on a map but cannot capture their physical characteristics (e.g., 3D shape and extent, mineral distribution, overburden thickness) or their material balance volumes.…”

Simulation of a Future SLR Satellite to Improve Low‐Degree Gravity Estimates

“…Our procedure follows established methods to simulate mass-change missions (Loomis et al, 2012;Wiese et al, 2012Wiese et al, , 2022. Table 1 reports the force models used in this study.…”