Satellite Altimetry and GRACE Gravimetry for Studies of Annual Water Storage Variations in Bangladesh

Abstract

Four different data sources have been compared with respect to observations of the annual water storage variations in the region of Bangladesh. Data from satellite altimeters and river gauges estimates the variation in surface water storage in the major rivers of Bangladesh.

The GRACE satellites measure the integrated mass change and hence the terrestrial soil moisture variations, which can also be estimated by a hydrological model (GLDAS). These types of observations enable the derivation of the integrated water storage in the entire region of Bangladesh.

For all data types, the annual signal has been estimated from a common dataset spanning the period 2003 and 2004. All four different data observe that water storage in Bangladesh is largely dominated by an annual signal with a phase peaking in early September. The annual variations in river level peaks roughly two weeks earlier than terrestrial soil moisture observations by GRACE observations and GLDAS model output.