Future GRACE-Type missions for measuring changes in the Earth’s gravity field

A mission called GRACE has been flying since 2002 and measuring time-variations in the Earth's gravity field due to changes in water and ice storage on land, ocean currents and tides, the atmospheric mass distribution, etc. In the future, similar missions with improved spatial and temporal resolution are expected to be particularly significative to understand hydrological changes in countries where water shortages are predicted to present continuing challenges. A gravity gradiometer mission called GOCE also has been flown recently to improve the spatial resolution for the average gravity field. These missions will be described in the first part of the talk. Then, the sources of limitations on the accuracy of the results for future GRACE-type missions and the options for experimental improvements will be described. Détails : http://spacecampus-paris.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=163%3A16052011-11h--qseminaire-sur-la-mission-grace-par-pete-benderq&catid=37&Itemid=74&lang=fr