RASLyBoCa - Response of Arctic sea level and hydrography to hydrological regime change over boreal catchments

Because of the fact, that the influx of freshwater into the Arcitc Ocean has a high influence into the regional dynamics and sea level changes in the Arctic waters, it is very important to monitor this variations. Therefore, the aim of the RASLyBoCa project is to do this with a wide range of methods like in-situ observations, satellite altimetry and satellite gravimetry (GRACE).

The RASLyBoCa project is one of 20 projects of the Priority Programm (SPP-1889) ‚ Regional Sea Level Change and Society (SealLevel)‘, which was founded by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG). The SeaLevel Programm aims to understand the changes in the regional sea level and also the impact of it on the society.[1]

The project is a collaboration between the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI), Helmholtz-Center of Polar and Marine Research (Helmholtz Zentrum für Polar und Meeresforschung) and the Institute of Geodesy of the University of Stuttgart (GIS) and has the following objectives:

  • Improving the observational record of hydrological parameters over boreal catchments by using geodetic spaceborne methods (e.g. satellite altimetry and satellite gravimetry).
  • Sensitivity analysis of the ice-ocean model to changes in freshwater forcing (including runoff)
  • Stochastic characterisation of discharge time series in terms of trend, instationarity and extreme events
  • Comparison of model output in relation to changes in continental runoff with observed variability of liquid freshwater content (and resulting steric hight changes) in the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic since 1990

Apart of the widely used satellite altimetry, in-situ observations (e.g. GRDC) and hydrological models, the satellite gravimetry provides new possibilities to observe the hydrology of large catchments by measuring the mass of water storage over catchments. This storage changes can then be transformed into discharge through several methods, e.g. by hydro(meteoro)logical balance or runoff -storage relationships. Which will be also one approach within this projects besides the conventional satellite altimetry.

 

[1]https://www.spp-sealevel.de/index.php?id=3765

 

 

 

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