Geoid and Gravity in Earth Sciences – An Overview

Precise global geoid and gravity anomaly information serves essentially three different kinds of applications in Earth sciences: gravity and geoid anomalies reflect density anomalies in oceanic and continental lithosphere and the mantle; dynamic ocean topography as derived from the combination of satellite altimetry and a global geoid model can be directly transformed into a global map of ocean surface circulation; any redistribution or exchange of mass in Earth system results in temporal gravity and geoid changes. After completion of the dedicated gravity satellite missions GRACE and GOCE a high standard of global gravity determination, both of the static and of the time varying field will be attained. Thus, it is the right time to investigate the future needs for improvements in the various fields of Earth sciences and to define the right strategy for future gravity field satellite missions.