Fill your glass with water, and you'll feel the weight in your hand.
Fill a barrel with water and you'll need a horse to carry it.
Fill an ocean with water and you'll get enough mass to change the path of a satellite.
Back in the 17th century, Newton told us about the law of gravitation. The well-known rule is that mass attracts mass. Because the mass of water is so important on Earth, it modifies gravitational attraction and impacts the orbits of satellites. Every time the GRACE satellites fly over an area, such as the Amazon basin for example, or Greenland, the mass of water below the satellites (or frozen water!) is different, and impacts the orbit differently. By measuring precisely the deviation of the orbit, and applying sophisticated reverse calculations, scientists can determine the quantity of water below the satellite's path. That's why current and future gravity missions represent a very innovative tool to monitor climate and water cycle (draughts, floods, ice melt, and so on).
At Geode & Cie, we are working both on the science part and on the graphical part: first, computing the water heights from satellite data in close collaboration with CNES Toulouse, France, and then, making the numbers understandable by humans. We are developing an interactive tool to see instantly the water heights on any area of the Earth. It uses fast interactive web technology, such as classic php and javascript, so anyone can access the information quickly from anywhere in the world. Thanks to these technologies, it only takes a few seconds to analyze a part of the world, and compare results between different research groups. It is available at plot.egsiem.eu, and we call it the EGSIEM Plotter. This is of high interest for scientists, as well as for any citizen who is just curious about our planet.
So, while you are traveling around the web, you should definitely make a stop at our website, and give it a try: plot.egsiem.eu. Fill your glass with water, and give three cheers for the javascript!
Map view
Plot view
