Publications related to the GRACE Missions (no abstracts)

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Improving global and regional ocean heat content by consistently combining GRACE gravity, satellite altimetry and Argo profile observations in a joint inversion framework

Uebbing, Bernd, Vielberg, Kristin, Rietbroek, Roelof, Aschenneller, Bene, Köhl, Armin, and Kusche, Jürgen, 2026. Improving global and regional ocean heat content by consistently combining GRACE gravity, satellite altimetry and Argo profile observations in a joint inversion framework. Earth System Science Data, 18(9):6945–6972, doi:10.5194/essd-18-6945-2026.

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@ARTICLE{2026ESSD...18.6945U,
       author = {{Uebbing}, Bernd and {Vielberg}, Kristin and {Rietbroek}, Roelof and {Aschenneller}, Bene and {K{\"o}hl}, Armin and {Kusche}, J{\"u}rgen},
        title = "{Improving global and regional ocean heat content by consistently combining GRACE gravity, satellite altimetry and Argo profile observations in a joint inversion framework}",
      journal = {Earth System Science Data},
         year = 2026,
        month = sep,
       volume = {18},
       number = {9},
        pages = {6945-6972},
     abstract = "{The current energy imbalance at the top of atmosphere and corresponding
        heating of the Earth system is the main driver of steric sea
        level change through ocean heat uptake (OHU). A global constant
        heat capacity factor is commonly applied to retrieve ocean heat
        content (OHC) from observed ocean-average steric sea level. We
        propose an extension to this methodology, which focuses on the
        leading modes of steric variability, which are derived from an
        ocean model and fitted to GRACE gravity, satellite altimetry and
        in situ Argo observations within a joint inversion framework.
        These modes are utilized to obtain data driven OHC estimates by
        establishing a mapping between modeled OHC and steric sea level,
        and rescaling each mode individually based on observed steric
        sea level change. On global scales for the period January 2005
        till December 2024, our OHU results (0.62 Wm-2) agree well with
        a variety of published datasets from in situ Argo data, model
        reanalyses and space-geodetic approaches as well as independent
        estimates from the CERES project. At basin scales, we
        demonstrate the global OHU to be driven mainly by warming of the
        Pacific Ocean (0.23 Wm-2), followed by contributions from the
        Indian (0.20 Wm-2) and Atlantic (0.13 Wm-2) oceans. Minor
        contributions are found from the Arctic Ocean (0.01 Wm-2), the
        Southern Ocean (0.02 Wm-2) and the residual ocean (0.03 Wm-2).
        Our results also indicate a shift from dominant heating in the
        Indian Ocean driven by heat transport from the Pacific Ocean,
        e.g. found during 2005--2015, towards a more evenly distributed
        global ocean heat budget. Monthly gridded OHC data from our
        Grace, Altimetry and Argo Mode Rescaling (GAAMR) method together
        with corresponding error estimates is available from
        10.1594/PANGAEA.994058 .}",
          doi = {10.5194/essd-18-6945-2026},
       adsurl = {https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2026ESSD...18.6945U},
      adsnote = {Provided by the SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System}
}

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