High-resolution surface mass loads in the Amazon Basin combining GRACE and river routing model

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Abstract
Understanding water redistribution on Earth's surface is essential to hydrological applications and water management. Variations in water mass loads have been observed by the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), but the low spatial resolution of GRACE limits determination of their distribution in detail. Hydrologic models provide higher spatial resolution water mass loads, but may include larger uncertainties. In this study, we develop high-resolution surface mass loads over the Amazon basin using forward modeling by combining GRACE data and a hydrologic model. River routing discharge is also included as a priori information because of the large water volume changes on relatively narrow channels in the Amazon basin. These high-resolution surface mass loads constrained by river routing agree with GRACE observations when spatially smoothed. Vertical deformation estimated from these high-resolution loads agree with GNSS observations, at both seasonal and inter-annual time scales. In particular the most improved agreement is obtained at the NAUS GNSS station, close to the main channel of the Amazon, relative to predictions made using GRACE data. At two other stations (APSA and MAPA) near the main channel, the estimated vertical deformations apparently differ from observation, but much of the discrepancy is reduced when river path is corrected in river-routing model, indicating the importance of water loads on river channel to understand crustal displacement in the area.
Funding Information
  • National Research Foundation of Korea
  • MSIT (2018R1C1B5086283, 2020R1A2C2006857, 2021R1F1A1061854)

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