Speaker: Alonzo Olitt
Affiliation: EPSS, UCLA
Date: Monday, May 13, 2026
Time: 12:00 PM
Abstract
GPS measurements of the vertical motion of Earth’s surface along with gravity measurements from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and GRACE-Follow On (GRACE-FO) missions provide valuable data to analyze changes in terrestrial water storage (TWS) as a function of position and time. These integrated datasets effectively quantify TWS variations across global and regional scales. Here we expand upon previous studies that have incorporated GPS and GRACE(-FO) to determine long-term water cycle changes in the United States, by applying similar methodologies to provide one of the first looks into water cycle changes throughout Europe. Through applying a standard list of processing steps, we filter out unwanted signals in GPS measurements of vertical ground motion and identify GPS stations in Europe measuring only elastic displacements. By analyzing these elastic GPS displacements alongside GRACE(-FO) inferred data, we identify local and regional water cycle trends over the past 23 years, offering crucial insights into Europe’s hydrological evolution.