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On using satellite altimetry to determine the general circulation of the oceans with application to geoid improvement
Author(s) -
Wunsch Carl,
Gaposchkin E. M.
Publication year - 1980
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/rg018i004p00725
Subject(s) - geoid , altimeter , geodesy , hydrography , geology , satellite , ocean current , ocean surface topography , satellite altimetry , troposphere , geodetic datum , climatology , hydrographic survey , geophysics , meteorology , remote sensing , oceanography , geography , physics , astronomy , measured depth
We describe the problem of combining hydrography with marine geodesy and satellite altimetry for the purpose of determining the general circulation of the oceans, defining the eddy field, and improving the marine geoid. The critical problem is to understand the error budgets of four fields: orbit, height measurement, geoid, and ocean water density. Corrections must be made for atmospheric load, tides, tropospheric water vapor, wave height, and other parameters. A general formalism for deducing the geoid and ocean circulation is obtained in terms of inverse theory and applied to some limited examples.