Use of Satellite Altimetry for Operational Oceanography

Abstract. The launch of the US/French mission Topex/Poseidon (T/P) (CNES/NASA) in August 1992 was the start of a revolution in oceanography. For the first time, a very precise altimeter system optimized for large scale sea level and ocean circulation observations was flying. T/P alone could not observe the mesoscale circulation. In the 1990s, the ESA satellites ERS-1/2 were flying simultaneously with T/P. Together with my CLS colleagues, we demonstrated that we could use T/P as a reference mission for ERS-1/2 and bring the ERS-1/2 data to an accuracy level comparable to T/P. Near real time high resolution global sea level anomaly maps were then derived. These maps have been operationally produced as part of the SSALTO/DUACS system for the last 15 yr. They are now widely used by the oceanographic community and have contributed to a much better understanding and recognition of the role and importance of mesoscale dynamics. Altimetry needs to be complemented with global in situ observations. In the end of the 90s, a major international initiative was launched to develop Argo, the global array of profiling floats. This has been an outstanding success. Argo floats now provide the most important in situ observations to monitor and understand the role of the ocean on the earth climate and for operational oceanography. This is a second revolution in oceanography. The unique capability of satellite altimetry to observe the global ocean in near real time at high resolution and the development of Argo were essential to the development of global operational oceanography, the third revolution in oceanography. The Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment (GODAE) was instrumental in the development of the required capabilities. This paper provides an historical perspective on the development of these three revolutions in oceanography which are very much interlinked. This is not an exhaustive review and I will mainly focus on the contributions we made together with many colleagues and friends.

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Lively data: discover, browse and access ocean altimetry data on internet

Advances in Geosciences ◽

10.5194/adgeo-8-79-2006 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

pp. 79-82 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

V. Rosmorduc ◽

T. Jolibois ◽

O. Lauret

Keyword(s):

Satellite Altimetry ◽

Altimetry Data ◽

Data Section ◽

Operational Forecasting ◽

Operational Oceanography ◽

Ocean Altimetry ◽

Forecasting System ◽

Common Vision

Abstract. The Products and Services (P&S) department in the Space Oceanography Division at CLS (Collecte, Localisation, Satellites) is in charge of distributing and promoting altimetry and operational oceanography data. The department is thus involved in the Aviso satellite altimetry project (the French service which distributes altimetry products since 1992), in the Mercator ocean operational forecasting system, and in the European Godae/Mersea ocean portal. Aiming to a standardisation and a common vision and management of all these ocean data, all these projects, led to the implementation of several Opendap/LAS Internet servers (Baudel et al., 2004). Some of the possibilities of the tools, as well as how-to information will be highlighted, as they are in the "Lively data'' section of Aviso website (see http://www.aviso.oceanobs.com/html/donnees/las/). Moreover, with a two-year experience we now have some feedback and analysis of how people – users, would-be users and students alike – are using this tool, some ideas for possible enhancements, etc.

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From satellite altimetry to Argo and operational oceanography: three revolutions in oceanography

Ocean Science ◽

10.5194/os-9-901-2013 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 9 (5) ◽

pp. 901-915 ◽

Cited By ~ 43

Author(s):

P. Y. Le Traon

Keyword(s):

High Resolution ◽

Real Time ◽

Sea Level ◽

Ocean Circulation ◽

Satellite Altimetry ◽

Large Scale ◽

Global Ocean ◽

Operational Oceanography ◽

In Situ Observations

Abstract. The launch of the French/US mission Topex/Poseidon (T/P) (CNES/NASA) in August 1992 was the start of a revolution in oceanography. For the first time, a very precise altimeter system optimized for large-scale sea level and ocean circulation observations was flying. T/P alone could not observe the mesoscale circulation. In the 1990s, the ESA satellites ERS-1/2 were flying simultaneously with T/P. Together with my CLS colleagues, we demonstrated that we could use T/P as a reference mission for ERS-1/2 and bring the ERS-1/2 data to an accuracy level comparable to T/P. Near-real-time high-resolution global sea level anomaly maps were then derived. These maps have been operationally produced as part of the SSALTO/DUACS system for the last 15 yr. They are now widely used by the oceanographic community and have contributed to a much better understanding and recognition of the role and importance of mesoscale dynamics. Altimetry needs to be complemented with global in situ observations. At the end of the 90s, a major international initiative was launched to develop Argo, the global array of profiling floats. This has been an outstanding success. Argo floats now provide the most important in situ observations to monitor and understand the role of the ocean on the earth climate and for operational oceanography. This is a second revolution in oceanography. The unique capability of satellite altimetry to observe the global ocean in near-real-time at high resolution and the development of Argo were essential for the development of global operational oceanography, the third revolution in oceanography. The Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment (GODAE) was instrumental in the development of the required capabilities. This paper provides an historical perspective on the development of these three revolutions in oceanography which are very much interlinked. This is not an exhaustive review and I will mainly focus on the contributions we made together with many colleagues and friends.

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An Analysis of Vertical Crustal Movements along the European Coast from Satellite Altimetry, Tide Gauge, GNSS and Radar Interferometry

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs13112173 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (11) ◽

pp. 2173

Author(s):

Kamil Kowalczyk ◽

Katarzyna Pajak ◽

Beata Wieczorek ◽

Bartosz Naumowicz

Keyword(s):

Time Series ◽

Satellite Altimetry ◽

Tide Gauge ◽

Measurement Techniques ◽

Radar Interferometry ◽

Vertical Movements ◽

Persistent Scatterer ◽

Gnss Time Series ◽

Vertical Crustal Movements ◽

European Coast

The main aim of the article was to analyse the actual accuracy of determining the vertical movements of the Earth’s crust (VMEC) based on time series made of four measurement techniques: satellite altimetry (SA), tide gauges (TG), fixed GNSS stations and radar interferometry. A relatively new issue is the use of the persistent scatterer InSAR (PSInSAR) time series to determine VMEC. To compare the PSInSAR results with GNSS, an innovative procedure was developed: the workflow of determining the value of VMEC velocities in GNSS stations based on InSAR data. In our article, we have compiled 110 interferograms for ascending satellites and 111 interferograms for descending satellites along the European coast for each of the selected 27 GNSS stations, which is over 5000 interferograms. This allowed us to create time series of unprecedented time, very similar to the time resolution of time series from GNSS stations. As a result, we found that the obtained accuracies of the VMEC determined from the PSInSAR are similar to those obtained from the GNSS time series. We have shown that the VMEC around GNSS stations determined by other techniques are not the same.

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