WET Hydrology & Hydrogeology

The European Space Agency - 2011 GOCE geoid

https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2014/07/2011_GOCE_geoid

A gravity field model of a planet, referred to as a 'geoid,' this own of the Earth, was created in 2011.  At the time, it was the most accurate ever produced of the Earth. The colours in the image represent deviations in height (–100 m to +100 m) from an ideal geoid. The blue shades represent low values, and the reds/yellows represent high values.

A gravity field model provides precise data about a planet's gravity field, providing information about the planet's shape, interior, and fluid and atmospheric envelopes.

A gravity field model is used in various research areas to monitor continental hydrology, ice mass balance, ocean levels, and the dynamics of the planet's crust, mantle, and internal structure (plate tectonics).

Another example of the critical role that gravity plays a role with driving global ocean currents and regulating the planet’s climate. One apsect of this process has been in the news in last year is known as Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). Is it reaching a critical tipping point where it may collapse.