Some Off-Beat Applications of GRACE Time-Variable Gravity Data

GRACE has now provided over four years of monthly gravity field solutions, and counting. During this time analysis techniques have been steadily improving. As more and more users have applied GRACE data to an increasing variety of geophysical problems, the capabilities and limitations of GRACE have become better understood. In this talk we will describe examples of some unusual but interesting applications of GRACE to study problems in hydrology, oceanography, cryospheric sciences, and solid earth geophysics. Most of these applications are made possible only by first post-processing the standard gravity fields to obtain higher resolution. In some cases, the conclusions are somewhat speculative because alternate interpretations of the data can not be conclusively ruled out.