Data Processing and Archiving

System development, data processing and archiving are performed in a shared Science Data System (SDS) between the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the University of Texas Center for Space Research (UTCSR), and the GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam (GFZ). Telemetry data are received by the GRACE Raw Data Center (RDC) at Deutsches Zentrum für Luft und Raumfahrt (DLR) in Neustrelitz, Germany illustrated in the Instrumentation section. The first level of data processing is performed at JPL, where sensor calibration factors are applied, the data are correctly time-tagged, quality control flags are added, and the data sample rate is reduced from the high rate data of previous levels. Data are then sent to UTCSR and GFZ, where the mean and time variable gravity field is derived from the calibrated and validated data. Data are archived for distribution at JPL's Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center (PO.DAAC) and at GFZ's Information System and Data Center (ISDC).15 GRACE data include 30-day estimates of gravity fields, as well as profiles of air mass, density, pressure, temperature, water vapor, and ionospheric electron content.

<<Prev | Table of Contents | Next >>