The “Joint International GSTM and SPP Symposium” is arranged in series of moderated sessions on specific themes (see below). Each session consists of moderated but finite number of oral presentations limited to a 13 minute maximum allowing 2 minutes time for comments and discussions. Therefore, brief and well organized presentations are strongly encouraged.

Time limitations may prevent acceptance of all requests for oral presentations. Therefore the program committee is free to change requests to poster presentation. The maximum poster size shall not exceed 1.4 m (height) x 1.0 m (width). An abstract submission is required for both, oral and poster. Abstracts are solicited from the GRACE Science Team members as well as from members of the German Special Priority Program “Mass Transports and Mass Distribution in the System Earth”.

If you have any questions, please contact the program committee:

- Heinz Ilk (Coordinator, University Bonn, ilk@theor.geod.uni-bonn.de)

- Frank Flechtner (GFZ, flechtne@gfz-potsdam.de)

- Mike Watkins (JPL, Michael.watkins@jpl.nasa.gov)

- Srinivas Bettadpur (UTCSR, srinivas@csr.utexas.edu)

Opening: GRACE and GOCE Status, Special Priority and NASA Programs (invited talks only)

The latest information on the GRACE mission status and SDS RL04 models, the GOCE mission status, the German Special Priority Program and further NASA programs will be presented (invited talks only).

Session A: Latest Results of GRACE Gravity Field Modelling

Besides the SDS “standard” GRACE gravity products provided as monthly spherical harmonic time series this session will focus on gravity field models derived from alternative representations (mascons, wavelet analysis, etc.), with higher temporal resolution, for regional interpretation and in combination with terrestrial gravity and other mission data.

Session B: Processing Methods and Background Modelling

Even with current GRACE RL04 gravity field models the projected mission baseline accuracy has not yet been reached and gravity field variations estimated from different GRACE solutions still differ and complicate geophysical interpretation. This session invites papers analysing deficiencies in the applied data pre- and post-processing methods or background models or demonstrating improvements for future reprocessing of GRACE mission data.

Session C: Combination and Validation

Papers are solicited dealing with a consistent data combination and mass signal separation e.g. by common inversion of gravimetric and geometric observations or combination of gravity observations from GRACE and terrestrial data.

Session D: Hydrological Applications

Papers are solicited dealing with progress in hydrological application such as comparison of GRACE products with hydrological models or in-situ data or assimilation of GRACE data into hydrological models.

Session E: Oceanographic Applications

This session addresses advances in analysis of GRACE-only or in combination with altimeter data for oceanographic applications such as estimation of steric and mass related contribution to sea level change, ocean mass and transport or validation of GRACE products against ocean bottom pressure in-situ data or models.

Session F: Ice Mass Balance and GIA

This session invites presentations, distinct from session B, showing explicitly results for ice mass balance estimates in Greenland and Antarctica and which also consider other science issues that effect the interpretation of GRACE mass balance results such as glacial isostatic adjustment.

Session G: Dynamics and Structure of Mantle and Crust

This session invites presentations which use GRACE data in combination with mantle density anomalies, seismic tomography and other geophysical data to improve the modelling of the dynamics and structure of the Earth’s mantle and crust.

Session H: GRACE Follow-on

Key questions to consider in this session include: What is the science rationale for GRACE Follow-On? How large a data gap can be tolerated between GRACE and GRACE Follow-On? What is the science rationale for possible changes in GRACE Follow-On mission design? What technology options are available over the next decade to meet future science needs?

Session I: Open Session

This session solicits papers un-related to gravity field interpretation such as results obtained from GRACE radio occultation data, the interpretation of accelerometer data for air density modelling, GRACE POD or others.