The SDUST2022GRA global marine gravity anomalies recovered from radar and laser altimeter data: contribution of ICESat-2 laser altimetry

Abstract. The global marine gravity anomaly model is predominantly recovered from along-track radar altimeter data. Despite significant advances in gravity anomaly recovery, the improvement of the gravity anomaly model remains constrained by the absence of cross-track geoid gradients and the reduction in radar altimeter data, especially in coastal and high-latitude regions. ICESat-2 laser altimetry, with a three-pair laser beam configuration, a small footprint, and a near-polar orbit, facilitates the determination of cross-track geoid gradients and provides valid observations in certain regions. We present an ICESat-2 altimeter data processing strategy that includes the determination of cross-track geoid gradients and the combination of along-track and cross-track geoid gradients. Utilizing these methods, we developed a new global marine gravity model, SDUST2022GRA, from radar and laser altimeter data. Different weight determination methods were applied to each type of altimeter datum. The precision and spatial resolution of SDUST2022GRA were assessed against published altimeter-derived global gravity anomaly models (DTU17, V32.1, NSOAS22) and shipborne gravity measurements. SDUST2022GRA achieved a global precision of 4.43 mGal, representing an improvement of approximately 0.22 mGal over existing altimeter-derived models. In local coastal and high-latitude regions, SDUST2022GRA showed an enhancement of 0.16–0.24 mGal compared to the other models. The spatial resolution of SDUST2022GRA is approximately 20 km in certain regions, which is slightly superior to the other models. The percentage contribution of ICESat-2 to the improvement of the gravity anomaly model is 4.3 % in low- to mid-latitude regions by comparing SDUST2022GRA with ICESat-2 to SDUST2021GRA without ICESat-2, and this is increasing in coastal regions. These assessments suggest that SDUST2022GRA is a reliable global marine gravity anomaly model. The SDUST2022GRA data are freely available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8337387 (Li et al., 2023).