Satellite gravity processing notes

GRACE Level-2 Processing Workflow

From monthly spherical harmonics to gridded equivalent water height products, with reproducible configuration, filter traces, and validation notes.

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GRACE Level-2 preview and analysis screen

This blog records practical decisions behind a GRACE/GRACE-FO Level-2 workspace: MATLAB and Python runtimes, JSON-driven processing, filter-product comparisons, and output checks for EWH stacks.

Default HSAF input: P4M6 Baseline smoother: 300 km Gaussian Stack shape: [nLon x nLat x Nt]

Pipeline

A compact trace from coefficients to products

01

GSM monthly fields

Read CSR/JPL/GFZ spherical harmonics and build the available time index.

02

Corrections

Apply low-degree replacement, optional GIA, and mean-field removal.

03

Filter products

Generate RAW, P4M6, GAUSS, FAN, DDK4, and HSAF from one corrected source.

04

Grid stacks

Synthesize EWH grids as [nLon x nLat x Nt] and write monthly products.

Workbench

Configuration first, preview second

The desktop workflow keeps data paths, scientific parameters, runtime status, and preview checks close together, so each product can be traced back to the same configuration source.

GRACE processing setup screen
Processing setup from the local GRACE Level-2 desktop workflow.

Blog focus

Notes worth making searchable

Filter graph

P4M6_GAUSS as the conservative baseline, with DDK4 and HSAF kept for comparison.

Units

Stored EWH products follow the pipeline unit contract, with preview conversion documented separately.

Runtime

Local Python GUI, MATLAB one-click runs, and SLURM/HPC jobs share the same JSON configuration.