Earth System Science Data
Earth System Science Data
Earth System Science Data
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Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2026-576
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2026-576
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Preprints
31 Aug 2026
 | 31 Aug 2026
Status: this preprint is currently under review for the journal ESSD.

Updating the ESA Earth System Model for Future Gravity Mission Simulation Studies: ESA ESM 3.0

Linus Shihora, Laura Jensen, Eva Boergens, Volker Klemann, Robert Dill, Ingo Sasgen, Bert Wouters, Marius Schlaak, Jeanne Sauber-Rosenberg, Shin-Chan Han, Yoshiyuki Tanaka, Carla Braitenberg, Muhammad Tahir Javed, Gerardo Maurizio, Hugo Lecomte, Andrey Babeyko, Niels Hovius, and Henryk Dobslaw

Abstract. The ESA Earth System Model (ESA ESM) provides a synthetic data set of the time-variable global gravity field that includes realistic mass variations in the atmosphere, oceans, terrestrial water storage, continental ice sheets, and the solid Earth on a wide range of spatial and temporal frequencies.

We here present the details of the newly released version 3.0 of the ESA ESM which has been updated to reflect the increased capabilities of future satellite gravimetry missions and is designed to be used as a source input model in closed loop simulation studies. The changes to the previous ESA ESM 2.0 include the utilization of a small ensemble of co- and post-seismic earthquake signals, an updated GIA model, additional mass balance signals from previously not considered Arctic glaciers, sub-monthly surface-mass balance changes and a more realistic representation of ice sheet dynamics. Extreme hydrometeorological events as well as climate-driven and anthropogenic impacts on continental water storage are represented through an update of the hydrological component. Additionally, the ESM separately includes ocean bottom pressure variations along the western slope of the Atlantic, representing variations in the meridional overturning circulation as a critically important component of the interactively coupled global climate system. ESA ESM 3.0 is available with 6-hour resolution from January 2007 until December 2020 as separate layers representing the respective dynamic processes considered. It is augmented with synthetic error time series for atmosphere and ocean as well as hydrology to facilitate stochastical modelling of residual background model errors.

The updated ESA ESM 3.0 is available under:

Shihora, Linus; Klemann, Volker; Jensen, Laura; Dill, Robert; Sasgen, Ingo; Wouters, Bert; Sauber, Jeanne; Han, Shin-Chan; Tanaka, Yoshiyuki; Braitenberg, Carla; Javed, Muhammad Tahir; Maurizio, Gerardo; Lecomte, Hugo; Babeyko, Andrey; Hovius, Niels; Dobslaw, Henryk (2026): The ESA Earth System Model 3.0. GFZ Data Services. https://doi.org/10.5880/GFZ.UEOS.2026.001

How to cite. Shihora, L., Jensen, L., Boergens, E., Klemann, V., Dill, R., Sasgen, I., Wouters, B., Schlaak, M., Sauber-Rosenberg, J., Han, S.-C., Tanaka, Y., Braitenberg, C., Javed, M. T., Maurizio, G., Lecomte, H., Babeyko, A., Hovius, N., and Dobslaw, H.: Updating the ESA Earth System Model for Future Gravity Mission Simulation Studies: ESA ESM 3.0, Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss. [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2026-576, in review, 2026.
Received: 17 Jul 2026 – Discussion started: 31 Aug 2026
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Linus Shihora, Laura Jensen, Eva Boergens, Volker Klemann, Robert Dill, Ingo Sasgen, Bert Wouters, Marius Schlaak, Jeanne Sauber-Rosenberg, Shin-Chan Han, Yoshiyuki Tanaka, Carla Braitenberg, Muhammad Tahir Javed, Gerardo Maurizio, Hugo Lecomte, Andrey Babeyko, Niels Hovius, and Henryk Dobslaw

Status: open (until 07 Oct 2026)

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Linus Shihora, Laura Jensen, Eva Boergens, Volker Klemann, Robert Dill, Ingo Sasgen, Bert Wouters, Marius Schlaak, Jeanne Sauber-Rosenberg, Shin-Chan Han, Yoshiyuki Tanaka, Carla Braitenberg, Muhammad Tahir Javed, Gerardo Maurizio, Hugo Lecomte, Andrey Babeyko, Niels Hovius, and Henryk Dobslaw

Data sets

The ESA Earth System Model 3.0 Linus Shihora et al. https://doi.org/10.5880/GFZ.UEOS.2026.001

Linus Shihora, Laura Jensen, Eva Boergens, Volker Klemann, Robert Dill, Ingo Sasgen, Bert Wouters, Marius Schlaak, Jeanne Sauber-Rosenberg, Shin-Chan Han, Yoshiyuki Tanaka, Carla Braitenberg, Muhammad Tahir Javed, Gerardo Maurizio, Hugo Lecomte, Andrey Babeyko, Niels Hovius, and Henryk Dobslaw
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Short summary
Satellite gravimetry measures Earth's gravity in order to track water, ice, and air redistributions across the Earth. The new ESA Earth System Model 3.0 is a simulated dataset of these mass changes and designed to perform simulation studies of upcoming satellite missions which assess their capabilities to detect various signals. The dataset includes an update of the simulated atmosphere, oceans, hydrology, solid Earth, sea-level changes, earthquakes and selected regional signals.
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