Potential and Limitations of Satellite Altimetry Constellations for Monitoring Surface Water Storage Changes--A Case Study in the Mississippi Basin  
[PERSON]  
1 Deutsches Geodatisches Forschungsinstitut der Technischen Universitat Munchen (DGFI-TUM),  
Arcisstrasse 21, 80333 Munich, Germany; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (L.E. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (D.S. ); [PERSON].S.) [PERSON]  
1 Deutsches Geodatisches Forschungsinstitut der Technischen Universitat Munchen (DGFI-TUM),  
Arcisstrasse 21, 80333 Munich, Germany; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (L.E. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (D.S. ); [PERSON].S.) [PERSON]  
1 Deutsches Geodatisches Forschungsinstitut der Technischen Universitat Munchen (DGFI-TUM),  
Arcisstrasse 21, 80333 Munich, Germany; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (L.E. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (D.S. ); [PERSON].S.) [PERSON]  
1 Deutsches Geodatisches Forschungsinstitut der Technischen Universitat Munchen (DGFI-TUM),  
Arcisstrasse 21, 80333 Munich, Germany; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (L.E. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (D.S. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (C.S.) [PERSON]  
1 Deutsches Geodatisches Forschungsinstitut der Technischen Universitat Munchen (DGFI-TUM),  
Arcisstrasse 21, 80333 Munich, Germany; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (L.E. ); [PERSON]] (D.S. ); [PERSON].S.) [PERSON]  
1 Deutsches Geodatisches Forschungsinstitut der Technischen Universitat Munchen (DGFI-TUM),  
Arcisstrasse 21, 80333 Munich, Germany; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (L.E. ); [PERSON]] (D.S. ); [PERSON].S.) [PERSON]  
1 Deutsches Geodatisches Forschungsinstitut der Technischen Universitat Munchen (DGFI-TUM),  
Arcisstrasse 21, 80333 Munich, Germany; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (L.E. ); [PERSON]] (D.S. ); [PERSON].S.) [PERSON]  
1 Deutsches Geodatisches Forschungsinstitut der Technischen Universitat Munchen (DGFI-TUM),  
Arcisstrasse 21, 80333 Munich, Germany; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (L.E. ); [PERSON]] (D.S. ); [PERSON].S.) [PERSON]  
1 Deutsches Geodatisches Forschungsinstitut der Technischen Universitat Munchen (DGFI-TUM),  
Arcisstrasse 21, 80333 Munich, Germany; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (L.E. ); [PERSON]] (D.S. ); [PERSON].S.) [PERSON]  
1 Deutsches Geodatisches Forschungsinstitut der Technischen Universitat Munchen (DGFI-TUM),  
Arcisstrasse 21, 80333 Munich, Germany; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (L.E. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (D.S. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (C.S.) Goethe Universitat, Theodor-W.-Adorno-Platz 6, 60323 Frankfurt, Germany; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (C.S.) Correspondence: [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (c.denise.dettmering@tum. especially in remote areas [4]. Surface volume changes can be measured by satellites with two different approaches: whereas gravity missions such as the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and its successor GRACE-FO observe total water storage changes with spatial resolutions of some hundred kilometers [5], a combination of satellite altimetry and optical imagery can be used to directly estimate surface water volume changes [6; 7; 8]. Pre-processed remote sensing data for hydrological applications are disseminated by different institutions. One platform is the Database for Hydrological Time Series of Inland Waters (DAHITI), which is available at [[http://dahiti.dgfi.tum.de](http://dahiti.dgfi.tum.de)]([http://dahiti.dgfi.tum.de](http://dahiti.dgfi.tum.de)). DAHITI provides a variety of hydrological information on lakes, reservoirs, rivers and wetlands derived from satellite data. The most important products are water levels from satellite altimetry and water surface areas from satellite imagery. Moreover, water occurrence masks are available for download. Currently, information on more than 2800 targets is provided. Surface water masks derived from remote sensing data are valuable for many applications, including flood plain monitoring and water resource studies. Moreover, they are commonly used in satellite altimetry applications to define target locations and to remove measurements contaminated by land. For that purpose, constant land-water-masks are usually used; e.g., the Global Lakes and Wetlands Database (GLWD) mask [9] or the water mask MOD44W [10]. In recent years, dynamic masks have also become common, especially for river applications.