Abstract:

The success of GRACE has blazed a new trail in the Earth observation on space geodesy. Based on the time-varying gravity anomaly data of the GRACE mission, longterm variations of continental water storage in China and its adjacent areas were estimated. Seasonal changes of water storage in China and its adjacent regions have been clearly revealed. With the remove of seasonal changes by 13-points moving averages, the long-term change rates of continental water storage in four distinct zones, namely southern Himalaya, Asian high mountains of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region plus Tibet and its neighbourhood, Northern China, and Southern China, were found to be -12.7±0.7 km³/a, -60.4±2.7 km³/a, -12.5±0.5 km³/a and +6.6±0.9 km³/a, respectively. Continental water storages of southern Himalaya and the Asian high mountains show apparent decreasing trends, which are consistent with the results of Matsuo and Heki by substantial glacial ice melting in these Asian high mountains. However, acceleration of mass loss of high mountain glaciers in the Northwestern Asian is not clear in recent decades. The long-term trends of continental water storage in the northeast and south of the North China are not stable.

Key words: GRACE gravity satellite mission, land water storage variations, seasonal changes, China and adjacent regions, water management