The group award was accepted by Tapley and other leaders of the GRACE team, which also includes NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
GRACE uses twin satellites to make precise measurements of gravity-field changes on Earth. Data from GRACE has established the rapid loss of ice mass in recent years from Greenland and Antarctica, and major changes in water storage in
In addition to preparing GRACE satellite data for use by scientists internationally, the Center for Space Research engineers have improved the sensitivity of GRACE's measuring devices several times since the mission started in 2002. This spring, center staff led by Dr. Srinavas Bettadpur provided researchers with the ability to estimate mass changes with a spatial resolution of less than 200 miles.
This level of precision proved important in 2006 when GRACE data identified
Adding that ice into the North Atlantic current may lower water and wind temperatures traveling past