GRACE/GRACE-FO Groundwater Storage Anomalies

GRACE/GRACE-FO Groundwater Storage Anomalies

MH Subset Needed

Satellite gravity measurements from GRACE/GRACE-FO missions providing monthly terrestrial water storage anomalies at ~300km resolution since 2002. Combined with GLDAS soil moisture, yields groundwater depletion maps critical for Maharashtra's water-stressed Marathwada and Vidarbha regions.

Build a groundwater depletion monitor for Maharashtra using GRACE satellite gravity measurements.
Maharashtra subset not yet extracted. This is a global dataset that contains data covering Maharashtra. A regional subset can be extracted by filtering on geographic coordinates or administrative boundaries.
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Quick Start

import xarray as xr
# Download from https://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/
print('GRACE groundwater: https://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/')
print('Monthly groundwater storage anomalies from satellite gravity')
Modality
raster-gridded
Size
~2 GB (global), ~50 MB (India subset)
License
Format
NetCDF / ASCII
Language
en
Update Frequency
monthly
Organization
NASA JPL / GFZ Potsdam
Category
environment-climate-disaster

Schema

FieldTypeDescription
latitudefloatGrid cell latitude (~1° resolution)
longitudefloatGrid cell longitude (~1° resolution)
timedateMonthly observation period
lwe_thicknessfloatLiquid water equivalent thickness anomaly (cm)

Build With This

Create a long-term groundwater sustainability model for Maharashtra combining GRACE trends with rainfall and extraction data
Develop a drought indicator combining GRACE groundwater anomalies with surface water and vegetation data
Build a policy impact evaluator measuring how watershed management programs affect Maharashtra groundwater levels

AI Use Cases

Groundwater depletion monitoring in MarathwadaDrought severity classificationIrrigation sustainability assessmentWater resource management modelingClimate adaptation planning
Last verified: 2026-03-07