Investigation of hydrological and atmospheric loading by space geodetic techniques

Observations of sea level can only be interpreted correctly if land motion in particular in terms of vertical deformation of coastal areas is taken into account. In the last decades space geodetic techniques such as VLBI (Very Long Baseline Interferometry), SLR (Satellite Laser Ranging), the GPS (Global Positioning System), and Doris (Doppler Orbitography and Radio positioning Integrated by Satellite) have proved to be very powerful for determining displacements of points on the solid Earth. These can be modeled by using various geodynamical parameters, e.g. the Love and Shida numbers in the model of the solid Earth tides and site-dependent amplitudes and phases of the ocean loading models. Today, the small deformations associated with the response of the Earth to atmospheric and hydrological loading are of growing interest. These effects cause site-dependent vertical displacements with ranges up to ±30mm due to atmospheric pressure variations and due to mass redistribution in surface fluid envelopes, in particular in continental water reservoirs (soil moisture, snow, and groundwater). Several new global and regional models of soil moisture and snow depths are now available and can be validated by space geodetic techniques. This paper is intended to give a short overview about state-of-the-art of modeling loading effects. A short introduction to the Special Bureau for Loading within the Global Geophysical Fluid Center (GGFC) of the IERS will be given, too. Finally, it will be shown how the effects influence the results of high precision space geodetic measurements. The paper mainly concentrates on vertical crustal motions on seasonal and interannual time scales observed by VLBI and describes also some results obtained from Doris.