The Earth's dynamic figure parameters, namely the principal moments of inertia and dynamic ellipticities of the whole Earth, the fluid outer core and the solid inner core, are fundamental parameters for geodetic, geophysical and astronomical studies. This study aims to re-estimate the mass and the dynamic figure parameters of the Earth on the basis of some global gravity models (EGM2008, EIGEN-6C and EIGEN-6C2) recently released with unprecedented accuracies, as well as an improved value of the gravitational constant G recommended by the Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA). With the potential coefficients of EGM2008, EIGEN-6C and EIGEN-6C2 rescaled to be consistent with the IAU (International Astronomical Union) and IAG (International Association of Geodesy) numerical standards, and other values of relevant parameters also being consistent with those numerical standards, we have obtained consistent estimates of the dynamic figure parameters of the stratified Earth using the theory described in Chen and Shen (J Geophys Res 115:B12419 2010). Our preferred principal moments of inertia for the whole Earth are A = (80,085.1 ± 9.6) × 10 33 kg m 2 , B = (80,086.8 ± 9.6) × 10 33 kg m 2 , and C = (80,349.0 ± 9.6) × 10 33 kg m 2 , respectively, the accu-
Lake level change in the Tibetan Plateau is an important indicator for regional and global climate changes. We use altimeter data from Cryosat-2, SARAL, ICESat, and Jason-2 to detect lake level changes at different spatial and temporal resolutions over 2003-2017 (Jason-3 data in 2017 for validation). Cryosat-2's SARIn mode provides precise water level time series over 59 lakes. SARAL's waveforms are retracked to generate near monthly, high-quality measurements at 31 lakes. Jason-2 provides a reference for removing inter-altimeter biases, enabling coherent records over lakes with Jason-2 passes. After a decade of rise since the ICESat record of 2003, the lake levels of Nam Co, Selin Co, Ngangzi Co, and Chibuzhang Co became flat in 2014-2016 and started to fluctuate or decline after 2016. Such positive-flat-negative trends are consistent with the trend variations of mass change from Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE). SARAL detected persistent lake level declines over 2013-2016 in southern Tibet that may signify the onset of decadal reduced flows of the Yarlung Tsangpo and Brahmaputra River that could affect the water supply for their downstream regions in India and Bangladesh. Cryosat-2 and Jason-2 detected sudden lake level rises and falls around Zhuonai, Kusai, and Salt Lake associated with a 2011 lake outburst, which is confirmed by lake volume changes from two Landsat-7 images. With a careful processing and calibration, multiple altimeters allow for determining and cross-validating long-term and episodic lake level changes unachievable by a single altimeter.
Surface vertical deformation includes the Earth’s elastic response to mass loading on or near the surface. Continuous Global Positioning System (CGPS) stations record such deformations to estimate seasonal and secular mass changes. We used 41 CGPS stations to construct a time series of coordinate changes, which are decomposed by empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs), in northeastern Tibet. The first common mode shows clear seasonal changes, indicating seasonal surface mass re-distribution around northeastern Tibet. The GPS-derived result is then assessed in terms of the mass changes observed in northeastern Tibet. The GPS-derived common mode vertical change and the stacked Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mass change are consistent, suggesting that the seasonal surface mass variation is caused by changes in the hydrological, atmospheric and non-tidal ocean loads. The annual peak-to-peak surface mass changes derived from GPS and GRACE results show seasonal oscillations in mass loads, and the corresponding amplitudes are between 3 and 35 mm/year. There is an apparent gradually increasing gravity between 0.1 and 0.9 μGal/year in northeast Tibet. Crustal vertical deformation is determined after eliminating the surface load effects from GRACE, without considering Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA) contribution. It reveals crustal uplift around northeastern Tibet from the corrected GPS vertical velocity. The unusual uplift of the Longmen Shan fault indicates tectonically sophisticated processes in northeastern Tibet.
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