Dr Rebecca McGirr

Postdoctoral Fellow
Research School of Earth Sciences

My current research involves using satellite gravity data to measure the temporal and spatial variations of the solid Earth and it’s fluid envelope. I have expertise in the analysis of space gravity data collected by the Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission which was launched in 2002, and it’s successor, the GRACE Follow-On (GRACE-FO) mission, launched in 2018. I have particular interest in using this data to measure changes in the mass balance of polar ice caps and glaciers, and how their decreasing volume is contributing to global sea level rise.

I completed my PhD in Geodesy at the Research School of Earth Sciences within the Australian National University, awarded in 2022. During my PhD I developed a novel approach to remove thermally induced errors from the key non-gravitational accelerations measured by the accelerometers onboard the GRACE satellites. I also assessed through simulation the impact of varying satellite altitude and ground track coverage on the accuracy of GRACE temporal gravity field models in the presence of instrument noise and forcing model errors.

I completed my Undergraduate Degree with Honours in Geophysics at the University of Sydney in 2018. During my Honours year, I developed a plate tectonic model of Central American Seaway closure and assessed the implications of this event within the context of a shifting global climate

Groups

  • McGirr, R, Tregoning, P, Allgeyer, S et al. 2022, 'Mitigation of thermal noise in GRACE accelerometer observations', Advances in Space Research, vol. 69, no. 1, pp. 386-401.
  • Allgeyer, S, Tregoning, P, McQueen, H et al. 2022, 'ANU GRACE Data Analysis: Orbit Modeling, Regularization and Inter-satellite Range Acceleration Observations', Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, vol. 127, no. 2.
  • McGirr, R, Seton, M & Williams, S 2021, 'Kinematic and geodynamic evolution of the Isthmus of Panama region: Implications for Central American Seaway closure', Geological Society of America Bulletin, vol. 133, no. 3-4, pp. 867-884.
  • Seton, M, Muller, D, Zahirovic, S et al. 2020, 'A Global Data Set of Present-Day Oceanic Crustal Age and Seafloor Spreading Parameters', Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, vol. 21, no. 10, pp. -.

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