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Application of satellite altimetry to ocean circulation studies: 1987–1994
Author(s) -
Fu LeeLueng,
Cheney Robert E.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
reviews of geophysics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 8.087
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1944-9208
pISSN - 8755-1209
DOI - 10.1029/95rg00187
Subject(s) - ocean surface topography , ocean current , altimeter , sea surface height , geology , geostrophic wind , geoid , ocean dynamics , satellite , climatology , oceanography , geodesy , environmental science , geophysics , aerospace engineering , engineering , measured depth
The ocean plays a key role in determining the global climate and its time evolution. To understand this role and subsequently develop techniques for predicting future climate, one must understand the dynamics of the global ocean circulation—the movement of water that transports mass, heat, salt, and other biogeochemical properties of the ocean that are closely linked to the processes of climate change. The only viable approach to observing the global ocean circulation with sufficient resolution and consistent sampling is the use of a satellite radar altimeter to measure the height of the sea surface—the sea level (Wunsch and Gaposchkin, 1980; Stewart, 1983; Wunsch, 1992). After removing the effects of the tides and atmospheric pressure from the observation, the deviation of the sea surface from the geoid, called the ocean dynamic topography, is readily related to the velocity of the surface geostrophic flow—a component of the surface flow on which the surface pressure force is balanced by the Coriolis force due to the Earth's rotation. Moreover, the ocean dynamic topography provides a strong constraint for determining the ocean circulation through the entire water column via the dynamic equations governing the fluid motion. Precise measurement of the shape of the global sea surface thus provides a powerful tool for studying the dynamics of the ocean circulation.