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Resolving marine gravity with ERS‐1 satellite altimetry
Author(s) -
McAdoo David C.,
Marks Karen M.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/92gl02436
Subject(s) - altimeter , geoid , geodesy , geology , geodetic datum , gravitational field , gravity anomaly , satellite , remote sensing , ground track , geophysics , physics , paleontology , geostationary orbit , astronomy , oil field , measured depth
To estimate how well ERS‐1 data from the 35‐day repeat mission can resolve fine structure in the marine geoid or gravity field, we compare along‐track gravity and gridded gravity fields derived from ERS‐1 fast delivery altimeter data to those computed from Geosat Geodetic Mission altimeter observations in the Southern Ocean. We find that single passes of ERS‐1 data can resolve along‐track gravity anomalies with wavelengths as short as 28–30 km (i.e., comparable to Geosat). However, the ERS‐1 gridded gravity field can only resolve anomalies as short as 66 km (versus ∼18 km for Geosat). This two‐dimensional resolution is limited by the larger ground track spacing (∼35 km at 60° S) of ERS‐1. To resolve fine structure in the marine gravity field it is essential to have altimeter data along more closely‐spaced ground tracks, such as those planned for the ERS‐1 176‐day repeat mission in 1994.