Articles | Volume 24, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-227-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-227-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
16 Jan 2020
Research article |
| 16 Jan 2020
| 16 Jan 2020
A framework for deriving drought indicators from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE)
Helena Gerdener
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Institute of Geodesy and Geoinformation, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
Olga Engels
Institute of Geodesy and Geoinformation, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
Jürgen Kusche
Institute of Geodesy and Geoinformation, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
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46 citations as recorded by crossref.
- GRACE-based hydrological droughts are less frequent but more severe than meteorological droughts in global major basins C. Ren et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2025.134582
- Characterization of hydrological droughts in Brazil using a novel multiscale index from GNSS M. Tang et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2022.128934
- An enhanced water storage deficit index (EWSDI) for drought detection using GRACE gravity estimates B. Khorrami & O. Gunduz https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2021.126812
- Interannual variations of terrestrial water storage in the East African Rift region E. Boergens et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4733-2024
- Quantifying the 2022 extreme drought in the Yangtze River Basin using GRACE-FO A. Duan et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2024.130680
- On the ability to study regional hydrometeorological changes using GPS and GRACE measurements A. Lenczuk et al. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40645-024-00665-4
- GRACE and land surface models reveal severe drought in eastern China in 2019 X. Yan et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2021.126640
- Estimation of hydrological drought recovery based on precipitation and Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) water storage deficit A. Singh et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-511-2021
- Review of In-Situ and Remote Sensing-Based Indices and Their Applicability for Integrated Drought Monitoring in South Africa M. Mukhawana et al. https://doi.org/10.3390/w15020240
- RECOG RL01: correcting GRACE total water storage estimates for global lakes/reservoirs and earthquakes S. Deggim et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-2227-2021
- Leveraging multi-variable observations to reduce and quantify the output uncertainty of a global hydrological model: evaluation of three ensemble-based approaches for the Mississippi River basin P. Döll et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-2259-2024
- Changing intensity of hydroclimatic extreme events revealed by GRACE and GRACE-FO M. Rodell & B. Li https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-023-00040-5
- Dynamics of meteorological and hydrological drought: The impact of groundwater and El Niño events on forest fires in the Amazon N. Toledo et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.176612
- Climatic teleconnection of the future trend of meteorological, GRACE-DSI, and vegetation-conditioned-based drought analysis in the Ganga Basin M. Hasan et al. https://doi.org/10.2166/ws.2024.173
- Drought assessment of China in 2002–2017 based on a comprehensive drought index Y. Xu et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2022.108922
- Water scarcity indicator based on GRACE derived total water storage for fast water scarcity monitoring F. Wolkeba et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2026.135280
- A novel drought index integrating GNSS and precipitation data for drought monitoring in Brazil W. Chen et al. https://doi.org/10.1080/17538947.2025.2543572
- Insights into hydrological drought characteristics using GNSS-inferred large-scale terrestrial water storage deficits Z. Jiang et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2021.117294
- The global land water storage data set release 2 (GLWS2.0) derived via assimilating GRACE and GRACE-FO data into a global hydrological model H. Gerdener et al. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00190-023-01763-9
- Reconstructing a new terrestrial water storage deficit index to detect and quantify drought in the Yangtze River Basin N. Chao et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2023.129972
- Assessing groundwater drought in Iran using GRACE data and machine learning A. Kashani & H. Safavi https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-99342-9
- Developing a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM)-Based Model for Reconstructing Terrestrial Water Storage Variations from 1982 to 2016 in the Tarim River Basin, Northwest China F. Wang et al. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13050889
- How realistic are multi-decadal reconstructions of GRACE-like total water storage anomalies? C. Hacker & J. Kusche https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2024.132180
- Quantifying the Central European Droughts in 2018 and 2019 With GRACE Follow‐On E. Boergens et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL087285
- Improving the resolution of GRACE-based water storage estimates based on machine learning downscaling schemes W. Yin et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2022.128447
- Drought susceptibility modeling with geospatial techniques and AHP model: a case of Bilate River Watershed, Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia A. Burka et al. https://doi.org/10.1080/10106049.2024.2395319
- Detection of extreme hydrological droughts in the poyang lake basin during 2021–2022 using GNSS-derived daily terrestrial water storage anomalies Y. Peng et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170875
- Significant variations in terrestrial water flux in mainland China during 2024 using GRACE-FO: impacts of extreme climate events Y. Zhong et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jag.2025.104875
- Monitoring annual meteorological drought in arid and semi-arid watersheds by SPI12 drought index and spatial autocorrelation pattern analysis: a case study of the Khuzestan province, Southwest Iran A. Adib et al. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40899-024-01142-y
- Hydrogeodesy Facilitates the Accurate Assessment of Extreme Drought Events Y. Wu et al. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-024-0123-z
- Reconstructing GRACE-type time-variable gravity from the Swarm satellites H. Richter et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-80752-w
- A Framework for Characterization of Drought Events at the Basin Scale Based on High-Resolution Terrestrial Water Storage Reconstruction Z. Yuan et al. https://doi.org/10.1109/JSTARS.2025.3600026
- Challenges in modeling and predicting floods and droughts: A review M. Brunner et al. https://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.1520
- Hydrological drought characterization based on GNSS imaging of vertical crustal deformation across the contiguous United States Z. Jiang et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153663
- Water cycle science enabled by the GRACE and GRACE-FO satellite missions M. Rodell & J. Reager https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-022-00005-0
- Decomposition-based reconstruction scheme for GRACE data with irregular temporal intervals Z. Yuan & X. Chen https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2025.134011
- Quantification and Assessment of Global Terrestrial Water Storage Deficit Caused by Drought Using GRACE Satellite Data J. Lu et al. https://doi.org/10.1109/JSTARS.2022.3180509
- Forecasting terrestrial water storage for drought management in Ethiopia T. Kenea et al. https://doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2020.1790564
- The benefits and trade-offs of multi-variable calibration of the WaterGAP global hydrological model (WGHM) in the Ganges and Brahmaputra basins H. Hasan et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-567-2025
- An optimized hydrological drought index integrating GNSS displacement and satellite gravimetry data C. Yao et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2022.128647
- Quantifying long-term drought in China’s exorheic basins using a novel daily GRACE reconstructed TWSA index S. Yang et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2025.132919
- Hydrometeorological Extreme Events in West Africa: Droughts P. Dibi-Anoh et al. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10712-022-09748-7
- Spatially distinct drought patterns and influencing factors across China: a machine learning approach with a comprehensive index Y. Cheng et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.114170
- Assessment of drought vulnerability in the Nile River basin using satellite remote sensing, Africa A. Yoshe https://doi.org/10.2166/nh.2025.007
- Multidecadal reconstruction of terrestrial water storage changes by combining pre-GRACE satellite observations and climate data C. Hacker et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-1747-2026
- GRACE Combined with WSD to Assess the Change in Drought Severity in Arid Asia J. Liu et al. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14143454
46 citations as recorded by crossref.
- GRACE-based hydrological droughts are less frequent but more severe than meteorological droughts in global major basins C. Ren et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2025.134582
- Characterization of hydrological droughts in Brazil using a novel multiscale index from GNSS M. Tang et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2022.128934
- An enhanced water storage deficit index (EWSDI) for drought detection using GRACE gravity estimates B. Khorrami & O. Gunduz https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2021.126812
- Interannual variations of terrestrial water storage in the East African Rift region E. Boergens et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4733-2024
- Quantifying the 2022 extreme drought in the Yangtze River Basin using GRACE-FO A. Duan et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2024.130680
- On the ability to study regional hydrometeorological changes using GPS and GRACE measurements A. Lenczuk et al. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40645-024-00665-4
- GRACE and land surface models reveal severe drought in eastern China in 2019 X. Yan et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2021.126640
- Estimation of hydrological drought recovery based on precipitation and Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) water storage deficit A. Singh et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-511-2021
- Review of In-Situ and Remote Sensing-Based Indices and Their Applicability for Integrated Drought Monitoring in South Africa M. Mukhawana et al. https://doi.org/10.3390/w15020240
- RECOG RL01: correcting GRACE total water storage estimates for global lakes/reservoirs and earthquakes S. Deggim et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-2227-2021
- Leveraging multi-variable observations to reduce and quantify the output uncertainty of a global hydrological model: evaluation of three ensemble-based approaches for the Mississippi River basin P. Döll et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-2259-2024
- Changing intensity of hydroclimatic extreme events revealed by GRACE and GRACE-FO M. Rodell & B. Li https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-023-00040-5
- Dynamics of meteorological and hydrological drought: The impact of groundwater and El Niño events on forest fires in the Amazon N. Toledo et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.176612
- Climatic teleconnection of the future trend of meteorological, GRACE-DSI, and vegetation-conditioned-based drought analysis in the Ganga Basin M. Hasan et al. https://doi.org/10.2166/ws.2024.173
- Drought assessment of China in 2002–2017 based on a comprehensive drought index Y. Xu et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2022.108922
- Water scarcity indicator based on GRACE derived total water storage for fast water scarcity monitoring F. Wolkeba et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2026.135280
- A novel drought index integrating GNSS and precipitation data for drought monitoring in Brazil W. Chen et al. https://doi.org/10.1080/17538947.2025.2543572
- Insights into hydrological drought characteristics using GNSS-inferred large-scale terrestrial water storage deficits Z. Jiang et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2021.117294
- The global land water storage data set release 2 (GLWS2.0) derived via assimilating GRACE and GRACE-FO data into a global hydrological model H. Gerdener et al. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00190-023-01763-9
- Reconstructing a new terrestrial water storage deficit index to detect and quantify drought in the Yangtze River Basin N. Chao et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2023.129972
- Assessing groundwater drought in Iran using GRACE data and machine learning A. Kashani & H. Safavi https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-99342-9
- Developing a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM)-Based Model for Reconstructing Terrestrial Water Storage Variations from 1982 to 2016 in the Tarim River Basin, Northwest China F. Wang et al. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13050889
- How realistic are multi-decadal reconstructions of GRACE-like total water storage anomalies? C. Hacker & J. Kusche https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2024.132180
- Quantifying the Central European Droughts in 2018 and 2019 With GRACE Follow‐On E. Boergens et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL087285
- Improving the resolution of GRACE-based water storage estimates based on machine learning downscaling schemes W. Yin et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2022.128447
- Drought susceptibility modeling with geospatial techniques and AHP model: a case of Bilate River Watershed, Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia A. Burka et al. https://doi.org/10.1080/10106049.2024.2395319
- Detection of extreme hydrological droughts in the poyang lake basin during 2021–2022 using GNSS-derived daily terrestrial water storage anomalies Y. Peng et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170875
- Significant variations in terrestrial water flux in mainland China during 2024 using GRACE-FO: impacts of extreme climate events Y. Zhong et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jag.2025.104875
- Monitoring annual meteorological drought in arid and semi-arid watersheds by SPI12 drought index and spatial autocorrelation pattern analysis: a case study of the Khuzestan province, Southwest Iran A. Adib et al. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40899-024-01142-y
- Hydrogeodesy Facilitates the Accurate Assessment of Extreme Drought Events Y. Wu et al. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-024-0123-z
- Reconstructing GRACE-type time-variable gravity from the Swarm satellites H. Richter et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-80752-w
- A Framework for Characterization of Drought Events at the Basin Scale Based on High-Resolution Terrestrial Water Storage Reconstruction Z. Yuan et al. https://doi.org/10.1109/JSTARS.2025.3600026
- Challenges in modeling and predicting floods and droughts: A review M. Brunner et al. https://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.1520
- Hydrological drought characterization based on GNSS imaging of vertical crustal deformation across the contiguous United States Z. Jiang et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153663
- Water cycle science enabled by the GRACE and GRACE-FO satellite missions M. Rodell & J. Reager https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-022-00005-0
- Decomposition-based reconstruction scheme for GRACE data with irregular temporal intervals Z. Yuan & X. Chen https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2025.134011
- Quantification and Assessment of Global Terrestrial Water Storage Deficit Caused by Drought Using GRACE Satellite Data J. Lu et al. https://doi.org/10.1109/JSTARS.2022.3180509
- Forecasting terrestrial water storage for drought management in Ethiopia T. Kenea et al. https://doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2020.1790564
- The benefits and trade-offs of multi-variable calibration of the WaterGAP global hydrological model (WGHM) in the Ganges and Brahmaputra basins H. Hasan et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-567-2025
- An optimized hydrological drought index integrating GNSS displacement and satellite gravimetry data C. Yao et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2022.128647
- Quantifying long-term drought in China’s exorheic basins using a novel daily GRACE reconstructed TWSA index S. Yang et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2025.132919
- Hydrometeorological Extreme Events in West Africa: Droughts P. Dibi-Anoh et al. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10712-022-09748-7
- Spatially distinct drought patterns and influencing factors across China: a machine learning approach with a comprehensive index Y. Cheng et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.114170
- Assessment of drought vulnerability in the Nile River basin using satellite remote sensing, Africa A. Yoshe https://doi.org/10.2166/nh.2025.007
- Multidecadal reconstruction of terrestrial water storage changes by combining pre-GRACE satellite observations and climate data C. Hacker et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-1747-2026
- GRACE Combined with WSD to Assess the Change in Drought Severity in Arid Asia J. Liu et al. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14143454
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Short summary
GRACE-derived drought indicators enable us to detect hydrological droughts based on changes observed in all storages. By performing synthetic experiments, we find that droughts identified by existing and modified indicators are biased by trends and GRACE-based spatial noise. A modified version of the Zhao et al. (2017) indicator is found to be particularly robust against spatial noise and is therefore applied to real GRACE data over South Africa.
GRACE-derived drought indicators enable us to detect hydrological droughts based on changes...
