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Full catalog/TELLUS_GRFO_L3_GFZ_RL06.3_OCN_v04
TELLUS_GRFO_L3_GFZ_RL06.3_OCN_v04·vRL06.3v04·dataset

Monthly changes in ocean-bottom pressure (GRACE-FO)

GFZ TELLUS GRACE-FO Level-3 Monthly Ocean Bottom Pressure Anomaly Release 6.3 version 04
ocean NASA POCLOUD Level 3 netCDF-4
In plain English

What it measures. Monthly changes in the pressure at the ocean floor, expressed as how much the weight of water above has shifted (an equivalent thickness of water). It reflects the combined effect of ocean and atmosphere mass moving around.

How it's made. Derived from the twin GRACE-FO satellites, which detect tiny changes in Earth's gravity, with several standard corrections applied and the results placed on monthly maps.

How & where you'd use it. Helps researchers track how ocean mass and circulation change over time and contributes to understanding sea-level change, ocean currents, and Earth's shifting water distribution.

What's measured

OCEANS › OCEAN PRESSURE › WATER PRESSURE › OCEAN BOTTOM PRESSURE

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2018-05-22 → ongoing
  • Measured byGRACE-FO (GRACE-FO MWI, GRACE-FO LRI, GRACE-FO ACC, GRACE-FO SCA)
  • Processing levelLevel 3
  • Spatial extent-180, -89.5, 180, 89.5
  • FormatsnetCDF-4
  • StatusACTIVE

What you can do with it

  • Watch sea-surface temperature and marine heatwaves
  • Spot algal blooms and ocean-colour shifts
  • Support fisheries and coastal monitoring
Official description

This data set is produced by the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) as part of the GRACE-FO (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On) program and derives the ocean bottom pressure (OBP) anomaly given as equivalent water thickness. These monthly grids are derived from GRACE-FO time-variable gravity observations during the specified timespan, and relative to the specified time-mean reference period. This quantity represents sea floor pressure changes due to the integral effect of ocean and atmosphere processes, including global mean ocean bottom pressure changes (mean ocean mass and mean atmosphere mass over the global oceans). A glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) correction has been applied, and standard corrections for geocenter (degree-1), C20 (degree-20) and C30 (degree-30) are incorporated. Post-processing filters have been applied to reduce correlated errors. Data grids are provided in ASCII/netCDF/GeoTIFF formats. GRACE-FO was launched on 22 May 2018, and extends the original GRACE mission (2002 – 2017) and expands its legacy of scientific achievements in tracking earth surface mass changes. Version 04 (v04) of the ocean bottom pressure data uses updated and consistent C20 and Geocenter corrections (i.e., Technical Notes TN-14 and TN-13), as well as an ellipsoidal correction to account for the non-spherical shape of the Earth when mapping gravity anomalies to surface mass change. Additionally, this release 06.3 is an updated version of the Level 3 products in coordination with the release of the analogous Level 2 products used to generate them. It differs from RL06.1 only in the Level-1B accelerometer transplant data that is used for the GF2 (GRACE-FO 2) satellite; see respective L-2 data descriptions. RL06.3 uses the ACX2-L1B data products. All GRACE-FO RL06.3 Level-3 fields are fully compatible with the GRACE RL06 data.

Get the data

tellus_grfo_l3_gfz_rl06.3_ocn_v04_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="TELLUS_GRFO_L3_GFZ_RL06.3_OCN_v04",
    version="RL06.3v04",
    bounding_box=(-122.5, 37.2, -121.8, 37.9),  # your area (W,S,E,N)
    temporal=("2024-01-01", "2024-12-31"),       # your dates
)
files = earthaccess.open(results)   # stream straight from POCLOUD
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.