The elastic response of the lithosphere to surface mass redistributions produces geodetically

measurable deformation of the Earth. This deformation is especially pronounced in South

and Southeast Asia, where the annual monsoon produces large-amplitude hydrological loads.

The Myanmar–India–Bangladesh–Bhutan (MIBB) network of about 20 continuously operating

Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) stations, established in 2011, provides an

opportunity to study the Earth’s response to these loads. In this study, we use GRACE temporal

gravity products as an estimate of long-wavelength surface water distribution and use

this estimate in an elastic loading calculation. We compare the predicted vertical deformation

from GRACE with that observed with GNSS. We find that elastic loading inferred from the

GRACE gravity model is able to explain the phase and much of the peak-to-peak amplitude

(typically 2–3 cm) of the vertical GNSS oscillations, especially in northeast India and central

Myanmar. GRACE-based corrections reduce the RMS scatter of the GNSS data by 30–45%

in these regions. However, this approach does not capture all of the seasonal deformation in

central Bangladesh and southernMyanmar.We show by a synthetic test that local hydrological

effects may explain discrepancies between the GNSS and GRACE signals in these places.

Two independent hydrological loading models of water stored in soil, vegetation, snow, lakes

and streams display phase lags compared to the GRACE and GNSS observations, perhaps

indicating that groundwater contributes to the observed loading in addition to near-surface

hydrology. The results of our calculations have implications for survey-mode GNSS measurements,

which make up the majority of geodetic measurements in this region. By using the

GNSS data together with estimates of hydrological loading from independent observations

and models, we may be able to more accurately determine crustal motions caused by tectonic

processes in South and Southeast Asia, while also improving our ability to monitor the annual

monsoon and resulting water storage changes in the region.