Measuring Terrestrial Water Transient Storage in its various components of Earth by orbiting sensors on satellites has been a quest for more than 40 years. Not only in the Hydrology community but also Climatology and Meteorology, Geology, Geodesy, Geophysics and Oceanography ha ve the challenge to attempt to first learn how to measure, then measure and assess the results. The importance is that Earth’s environments are changing and human communities, local and national governing bodies need ability to assess current hazards and to have predictive capabilities for society both local and international. So too the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) has joined the ongoing international space-based missions. There will be more after GRACE. For now is an important juncture in the effort to measure Terrestrial Water Transient Storage to ask, “What can GRACE measure and what is GRACE measuring”? Results of this investigation of the GRACE datasets by spectral methods indicate the detection of the Chandler Wobble but the Annual Wobble is aliased and below significance. Therefore, interpretations of Terrestrial Water Transient Storage are failed.
Barnes, P.W. and Reimnitz, E. (1976) Flooding of Sea Ice by Rivers of Northern Alaska. In: Williams Jr., R.S. and Carter, W.D., Ed., ERTS-1 A New Window on Our Planet, Paper 929, U.S. Geological Survey, Washington DC, 356-359.
United States Geological Survey (1997) Landsat Data, USGS Fact Sheet 084-97. United States Geological Survey, Washington DC.
Tifford, S.G., Asrar, G. and Bucklund, P.W. (1994) Mission to Planet Earth. Advances in Space Research, 14, 5-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/0273-1177(94)90339-5
Encyclopedia (2020) Mission to Planet Earth (NASA). https://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts -and-maps/mission-planet-earth-nasa
Saltzman, B. (1983) The Theory of Climate. Advances in Geophysics, 25, iii-xii, 3-505.
Memorandum of Understanding (1989) Memorandum of Understanding between the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Geneva. https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2019/06/MOU_between_UNEP_and_ WMO_on_IPCC-1989.pdf
Houghton, J.T., Jenkins, G.J. and Ephraums, J.J. (1990) Climate Change: The IPCC Scientific Assessment. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
NRC (National Research Council) (1991) Opportunities in the Hydrologic Sciences. National Academies Press, Washington DC.
NRC (National Research Council) (1999) Appendix C in “Assessment of NASA’s Plans for Post-2002 Earth Observing Missions”. NASA’s Associate Administrator for Earth Science, Washington, D.C.
Houghton, J.T., Ding, Y., Griggs, D.J., Noguer, M., van der Linden, P.J., Dai, X., Maskell, K. and Johnson, C.A. (2001) Climate Change 2001: Scientific Basis. Cambridge University Press, New York.
NRC (National Research Council) (2005) Earth Science and Applications from Space: Urgent Needs and Opportunities to Serve the Nation. National Academies Press, Washington DC.
Haq, B.U., Hardenbol, J. and Vail, P.R. (1987) Chronology of Fluctuating Sea Levels Since the Triassic (250 Million Years Ago to Present). Science, 235, 1156-1167. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.235.4793.1156
Vail, P.R., Mitchum Jr., R.M., Todd, R.G., Widmier, J.M., Thompson III., S., Sangree, J.B., Bubb, J.N. and Hatlelid, W.G. (1977) Seismic Strati-Graphy and Global Changes of Sea Level. In: Payton, C.E., Ed., Seismic Stratigraphy—Applications to Hydrocarbon Exploration, Vol. 26, American Association of Petroleum Geology Memoir, Tulsa, 49-212.
Hallam, A., Cohen, J.M. and Gilbert Chaloner, W. (1989) The Case for Sea-Level Change as a Dominant Causal Factor in Mass Extinction of Marine Invertebrates. Philosophysical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 325, 437-455. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.1989.0098
Miller, K.G., Mominz, M.A., Browing, J.V., Wright, J.D., Mountain, G.S., Katz, M.E., Sugarman, P.J., Cramer, B.S., Christie-Blick, N. and Pekar, S.F. (2005) The Phanerozoic Record of Global Sea-Level Change. Science, 310, 1293-1298. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1116412
Haq, B.U. and Schutter, S.R. (2008) A Chronology of Paleozoic Sea-Level Changes. Science, 322, 64-68.
Ronov, A.B. (1994) Phanerozoic Transgressions and Regressions on the Continents: A Quantitative Approach Based on Areas Flooded by the Sea and Areas of Marine and Continental Deposition. American Journal of Science, 294, 777-801. https://doi.org/10.2475/ajs.294.7.777
Scotese, C.R. (2002) Analysis of the Temperature Oscillations in Geological Eras. W.H. Freeman & Company, New York.
Pagani, M., Zachos, J.C., Freeman, K.H., Tipple, B. and Bohaty, S. (2005) Marked decline in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations during the Paleogene. Science, 309, 600-603. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1110063
Rudman, W.F. (2014) Earth’s Climate: Past and Future. 3rd Edition, W.H. Freeman & Company, New York.
Kent, D.V., Olsen, P.E., Rasmussen, C., Lepre, C., Mundil, R., Irmis, R.B., Gehrels, G.E., Giesler, D., Geismann, J.W. and Parker, W.G. (2018) Emperical Evidence for Stability of the 405-Kiloyear Jupiter-Venus Eccentricity Cycle over Hundreds of Millions of Years. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 115, 6153-6158. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1800891115
Muskett, R.R. (2008) GRACE Equivalent Water Mass Balance of the Himalayas and Tibet Plateau Region. Geophysical Research Abstracts, 10, 01606, 1607-7962/gra/ EGU2007-A-01606, European Geoscience Union Meeting, Vienna.
Muskett, R.R. (2008) GRACE Secular Trends and Periodic Variations at Global and Regional Scales. Geophysical Research Abstracts, 10, 01592, 1607-7962/gra/EGU2007-A-01592, European Geoscience Union Meeting, Vienna.
Muskett, R.R. (2008) GRACE Hydrologic Mass Balance Secular Trends and Variations on Arctic Permafrost Watersheds. EOS Transactions of the American Geophysical Union, 89, GC41A-0690.
Muskett, R.R. (2009) Hydrologic Secular Trends and Variations of the Eurasian and North American Permafrost Watersheds from GRACE, SSM/I and AMSR-E Observations. Geophysical Research Abstracts, 11, EGU2009-0, European General Assembly 2009, Vienna.
Muskett, R.R. (2010) Eastern Eurasian and Western North American Permafrost Groundwater Storage Changes from GRACE and High-Resolution Geoid Models. Geophysical Research Abstracts, 12, EGU2010-1596, EGU General Assembly 2010, Vienna.
Muskett, R.R. (2010) High-Resolution Geoid-Derived Groundwater Storage Changes in Alaska, U.S.A. and Yukon Territory, Canada, from 1999 through 2009 with Comparison to GRACE. Geophysical Research Abstracts, 12, EGU2010-1595, 2010 EGU General Assembly, Vienna.
Muskett, R.R. (2010) Water Mass Loss of the Himalayas from GRACE, ICESat and SRTM. Geophysical Research Abstracts, 12, EGU2010-1037, 2010 EGU General Assembly, Vienna.
Muskett, R.R. and Romanovsky, V.E. (2009) Groundwater Storage Changes in Arctic Permafrost Watersheds from GRACE and in Situ Measurements. Environmental Research Letters, 4, Article ID: 045009. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/4/4/045009
Muskett, R.R. and Romanovsky, V.E. (2011) Alaskan Permafrost Groundwater Storage Changes Derived from GRACE and Ground Measurements. Remote Sensing, 3, 378-397. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs3020378
Muskett, R.R. and Romanovsky, V.E. (2011) Energy and Mass Changes of the Eurasian Permafrost Regions by Multi-Satellite and in Situ Measurements. Natural Science, 3, 827-836. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ns.2011.310108
Muskett, R.R. and Romanovsky, V.E. (2012) Multi-Satellite-Derived Changes in Energy and Mass of Russian Permafrost Regions. Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Permafrost, Salekhard, 25-29 June 2012, 277-282.
Wahr, J., Molenaar, M. and Bryan, F. (1998) Time Variability of the Earth’s Gravity Field: Hydrologic and Oceanic Effects and Their Possible Detection Using GRACE. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 103, 30205-30229. https://doi.org/10.1029/98JB02844
Tapley, B.D., Bettadpur, S., Watkins, M. and Reigber, C. (2004) The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment: Mission Overview and Early Results. Geophysical Research Letters, 31, Article ID: L09607. https://doi.org/10.1029/2004GL019920
International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (2021) Map of ITRF2014 Network. https://www.iers.org/IERS/EN/DataProducts/ITRF/map/itrfmap.html
Lunar Laser Ranging Service (2019) Lunar Laser Ranging. https://ilrs.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/scienceContributions/lunar.html
Quinn, K.J. and Ponte, R.M. (2010) Uncertainty in Ocean Mass Trends from GRACE. Geophysical Journal International, 181, 762-768. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-246X.2010.04508.x
Zenner, L., Gruber, T., Jäggi, A. and Beutler, G. (2010) Propagation of Atmospheric Model Errors to Gravity Potential Harmonics—Impact on GRACE Dealiasing. Geophysical Journal International, 182, 797-807. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-246X.2010.04669.x
Peltier, W.R. (2004) Global Glacial Isostasy and the Sur-Face of the Ice-Age Earth: The ICE-5G (VM2) Model and GRACE. Annual Reviews Earth & Planetary Science, 32, 111-149. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.earth.32.082503.144359
Paulson, A., Zhong, S. and Wahr, J. (2007) Inference of Mantle Viscosity from GRACE and Relative Sea Level Data. Geophysical Journal International, 171, 497-508. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-246X.2007.03556.x
Jenkins, G.M. and Watts, D.G. (1969) Spectral Analysis and its Applications. Emerson-Adams Press, Inc., Boca Raton.
Box, G.E.P. and Jenkins, G.M. (1875) Time Series Analysis: Forecasting and Control. Revised Edition, Holden-Day, San Francisco.
Press, W.H., Teukolsky, S.A., Vetterling, W.T. and Flannery, B.P. (2007) Numerical Recipes: The Art of Scientific Computing. 3rd Edition, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Phillips, R.J. and Lambeck, K. (1980) Gravity Fields of the Terrestrial Planets: Long-Wavelength Anomalies and Tectonics. Reviews of Geophysics and Space Physics, 18, 27-76. https://doi.org/10.1029/RG018i001p00027
Xie, Y. and Kopeikin, S. (2010) Post Newtonian Reference Frames for Advanced Theory of the Lunar Motion and a New Generation of Lunar Laser Ranging. Acta Physica Slovaca, 60, 393-495.
Stacey, F.D. (1977) Physics of the Earth. 2nd Edition, Wiley & Sons Inc., New York.
Wang, G., Liu, L., Su, X., Liang, X., Yan, H., Tu, Y., Li, Z. and Li, W. (2016) Variable Chandler and Annual Wobbles in Earth’s Polar Motion. Survey of Geophysics, 37, 1075-1093. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10712-016-9384-0
Dick, S.J. (2000) Polar Motion: A Historical Overview on the Occasion of the Centiennial of the International Latitude Service. International Astronomical Union Colloquium, 178, 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0252921100061170
Kiryan, D.G. and Kiryan, G.V. (2014) Moon’s Perigee Mass as a Missing Component of the Earth’s Procession-Nutation Theory. Proceedings in Applied Mathematics and Mechanics, 14, 49-60. https://doi.org/10.1002/pamm.201410017 https://arxiv.org/pdf/1109.4969
Lambeck, K. (1980) The Earth’s Variable Rotation: Geophysical Causes and Consequences. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511569579 https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Earth_s_Variable_Rotation/-kiG3uYk oUEC?hl=en&gbpv=0
Lambeck, K. (1988) The Earth’s Rotation and Reference Frames for Geodesy and Geodynamics. Proceedings of the 128th Symposium of the International Astronomical Union, Coolfont, 20-24 October 1986, 1-20.
Jorgenson, T., Yoshikawa, K., Kanevskiy, M., Shur, Y., Romanovsky, V., Marchenko, S., Grosse, G., Brown, J. and Jones, B. (2008) Map of Permafrost Characteristics of Alaska. Institute of Northern Engineering, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks.
Jorgensen, T. (2008) Site #9 Thermokarst Pits and Fens in Coldstream Valley. In: Stevens, D.S.P., Ed., NICOP Local Field Trip Guidebook: Part I, Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys Guidebook, Vol. 11, Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Juneau, 3-37.
Coulter, H.W., Hopkins, D.M., Karlstrom, T.N.V., Pewe, T.L., Wahrhaftig, C. and Williams, J.R. (1962) Map Showing Extent of Glaciations in Alaska. MISC GEO INVEST MAP I-415, U.S. Geological Survey, Washington, DC. https://doi.org/10.3133/i415
Molnia, B.F. (2008) Glaciers of North America—Glaciers of Alaska. In: Williams, R.S., Jr., Ferrigno, J.G., Eds., Satellite Image Atlas of Glaciers of the World, Paper 1386-K, U.S. Geological Survey, Washington DC, 525 p. https://doi.org/10.3133/pp1386K
Holland, K., Lilly, M., Schnabel, W., Toniolo, H. and Prokein, P. (2010) An Overview of Available Research Results Related to Lakes Located within the Arctic Coastal Plain and North Slope Foothills Region, 2009. Bullen Point/Kuparuk Foothills Hydrology Projects Report No. INE/WERC 09-04, University of Alaska Fairbanks Institute of Northern Engineering, Fairbanks.
Hanna, G.D. (1963) Oil Seepages on the Arctic Coastal Plain, Alaska. Paper 38, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco.
Collertt, T.S., Bird, K.J., Kvenvolden, K.A. and Magoon, L.B. (1989) Map Showing the Base to The Deepest Ice-Bering Permafrost as Determined from Well Logs, North Slope, Alaska. US Geological Survey Oil and Gas Investigations Map OM-222, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington DC.
Kirschner, C.E., Grantz, A. and Mullen, M.W. (1992) Impact Origin of the Avak Structure, Arctic Alaska, and Genesis of the Barrow Gas Fields. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, 76, 651-679. https://doi.org/10.1306/BDFF889E-1718-11D7-8645000102C1865D
Bird, K. (1999) Geographic and Geologic Setting in The Oil and Gas Resource Potential of the 1002 Area, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, by ANWAR Assessment Team. Open-File Report 98-34, US Geological Survey, Menlo Park.
Collett, T.S., Agena, W.F., Lee, M.W., Zyrianova, M.V., Bird, K.J., Charpentier, R.R., Cook, Troy, Houseknect, D.W., Klett, T.R., Pollastro, R.M. and Schenk, C.J. (2008) Assessment of Gas Hydrate Resources on the North Slope, Alaska, 2008. US Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2008-3073, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington DC. https://doi.org/10.3133/fs20083073
Braund, S.R. and Associates (2009) Impacts and Benefits of Oil and Gas Development to Barrow, Nuiqsut, Wainwright, and Atqasuk Harvesters, Prepared for the North Slope Borough Department of Wildlife Management. State of Alaska, Department of Community and Economic Development, Division of Community Advocacy under the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A) Impact Program, Juneau.
Herriott, T.M., Wartes, M.A., Decker, P.L., Gillis, R.J., Shellenbaum, D.P., Mauel, D.J. and Helmold, K.P. (2015) Geologic Map of the Umiat-Gubik Area, Central North Slope, Alaska—Integration of Fieldwork and Subsurface Data in a Region of Known Oil and Gas Accumulations (Poster). Geological Society of America, Cordilleran Section Annual Meeting, Anchorage, 11-13 May 2015, Map PO-2015-002-sh001. https://doi.org/10.14509/29442
Banet Jr., A.C. (1991) Oil and Gas Developments on Alaska’s North Slope: Past Results and Future Prospects. Open File Report 34, Bureau of Land Management, Anchorage.
Spencer, A.M., Embry, A.F., Gautier, D.L., Stoupakova, A.V. and Sørensen, K., (2011) An Overview of the Petroleum Geology of the Arctic. Geological Society of London—Memoirs, 35, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1144/M35.1
Moore, T.E., Wallace, W.K., Bird, K.J., Karl, S.M., Mull, C.G., Dillon, J.T. (1992) Stratigraphy, Structure and Geologic Synthesis of Northern Alaska. Open-File Report 92-330, U.S. Geological Survey, Washington DC. https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr92330
Moore, T.E. and Box, S.E. (2016) Time-Slice Maps Showing Age, Distribution, and Style of Deformation in Alaska North of 60°N. U.S. Open-File Report 2016-1138, Geological Survey, Washington DC. https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20161138
Saltus, R.W., Miller, E.L., Gaina, C. and Brown, P.J. (2011) Chapter 4 Regional Magnetic Domains of the Circum-Arctic: A Framework for Geodynamic Interpretation. Geological Society of London—Memoirs, 35,49-60. https://doi.org/10.1144/M35.4
Mitchell, R.N., Kilian, T.M. and Evans, D.A.D. (2012) Supercontinent Cycles and the Calculation of Absolute Palaeolongitude in Deep Time. Nature, 482, 209-212. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10800
Liu, X. and Chen, B. (2000). Climatic Warming in the Tibetan Plateau during Recent Decades. International Journal of Climatology, 20, 1729-1742. https://doi.org/10.1002/1097-0088(20001130)20:14%3C1729::AID-JOC556%3E3.0.C O;2-Y
Lou, D., Jun, H., He, R., Li, X., Muskett, R.R., Marchenko, S.S. and Romanovsky, V.E. (2018) Elevation-Dependent Thermal Regime and Dynamics of Frozen Ground in the Bayan Har Mountains, Northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Southwest China. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, 29, 257-270. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.1988
Lou, D.L., Jun, H.J., He, R.X., Wang, X.F., Muskett, R.R., Marchenko, S.S. and Romanovsky, V.E. (2018) Characteristics of Water-Heat Exchanges and Inconsistent Surface Temperature Changes at an Elevational Permafrost Site on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres, 123, 10057. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JD028298
Gadgil, S., Vinayachandran, P.N., Francis, P.A. and Gadgil, S. (2004) Extremes of the Indian Summer Monsoon Rainfall, ENSO and Equatorial Indian Ocean Oscillation. Geophysical Research Letters, 31, Article ID: L12213. https://doi.org/10.1029/2004GL019733
You, Q., Kang, S., Pepin, N. and Yan, Y. (2008) Relationship between Trends in Temperature Extremes and Elevation in the Eastern and Central Tibetan Plateau, 1961-2005. Geophysical Research Letters, 35, Article ID: L04704. https://doi.org/10.1029/2007GL032669
Kaspari, S., Mayewshi, P., Kang, S., Sneed, S., Hou, S., Hooke, R., Kreutz, K., Introne, D., Handley, M., Maasch, K., Qin, D. and Ren, J. (2007) Reduction in the Northward Incursions of the South Asian Monsoon Since~1400 AD Inferred from a Mt. Everest Ice Core. Geophysical Research Letters, 34, Article ID: L16701. https://doi.org/10.1029/2007GL030440
Liou, K.N., Lee, W.-L. and Hall, A. (2007) Radiative Transfer in Mountains: Application to the Tibetan Plateau. Geophysical Research Letters, 34, Article ID: L23809. https://doi.org/10.1029/2007GL031762
Tapponnier, P., Zhiqin, X., Roger, F., Meyer, B., Arnaud, N., Wittlinger, G. and Jingsui, Y. (2001) Oblique Stepwise Rise and Growth of the Tibet Plateau. Science, 294, 1671-1677. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.105978
Harrison, T.M., Copeland, P., Kidd, W.S.F. and Yin, A. (1992) Rising Tibet. Science, 255, 1663-1670. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.255.5052.1663
Xu C., Liu, J., Song, C., Jiang, W. and Shi, C. (2000) GPS Measurements of Present-Day Uplift in the Southern Tibet. Earth, Planets Space, 52, 735-739. https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03352274
Wang, C., Zhao, X., Liu, Z., Lippert, P.C., Graham, S.A., Coe, R.S., Yi, H., Zhu, L., Liu, S. and Li, Y. (2008) Constraints on the Early Uplift History of the Tibetan Plateau. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 105, 4987-4992. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0703595105
Meijer, P.T. and Wortel, M.J.R. (1992) The Dynamics of Motion of the South American Plate. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 97, 11915-11931. https://doi.org/10.1029/91JB01123
Albert, J.S., Val, P. and Hoorn, C. (2018) The Changing Course of the Amazon River in the Neogene: Center Stage for Neotropical Diversification Neotropical Ichthyology. Neotropical Ichthyology, 16, Article ID: e180033. https://doi.org/10.1590/1982-0224-20180033
Web Reference (2012) Cross-Section of Amazon Basin and South American Plate (Image). https://nephicode.blogspot.com/2012/09/three-very-important-questions-part-iv. html
Goulding, M., Barthem, R. B. and Duenas, R. (2003) The Smithsonian Atlas of the Amazon. Smithsonian Books, Washington DC.
Feng, M., Lee, S. and Assumpção, M. (2007) Upper Mantle Structure of South America from Joint Inversion of Waveforms and Fundamental Mode Group Velocities of Rayleigh Waves. Journal of Geophysical Research, 112, Article ID: B04312. https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JB004449
Braun, J. (2010) The Many Surface Expressions of Mantle Dynamics. Nature Geoscience, 3, 825-833. https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1020
Adhikari, S. and Ivins, E.R. (2016) Climate-Driven Polar Motion: 2003-2015. Science Advances, 2, Article ID: e1501693. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1501693
Lambert, S. and Sottili, G. (2019) Is There an Influence of the Pole Tide on Volcanism? Insights from Mount Etnarecent Activity. Geophysical Research Letters, 46, 13730-13736. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL085525