Water Storage

Water storage refers to the total amount of water held within different components of the hydrological system, including surface water (rivers, lakes, reservoirs), soil moisture, groundwater, snow, and ice. It represents a key variable in the global water cycle and varies over seasonal to long-term time scales.

In geodesy, changes in water storage are detected through variations in the Earth’s gravity field and surface deformation. Satellite gravimetry missions such as GRACE and GRACE-FO measure temporal mass redistribution, enabling the quantification of total terrestrial water storage changes. GNSS observations complement these measurements by detecting hydrological loading effects on the Earth’s crust. Monitoring water storage is essential for climate research, drought assessment, and sustainable water resource management.