Marine Science Faculty Publications
Effect of Sea Level Variability on the Estimation of Mean Sea Surface Gradients
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2002
Keywords
Altimeter, Mean Sea Surface, Topex, Sea Level Variability
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1080/01490410214989
Abstract
It is demonstrated that an along-track mean sea surface (MSS) model estimated with TOPEX altimeter data, including the large 1997-1998 El Niño event, is slightly less accurate than a MSS model calculated from less data where El Niño signals are small. The manner in which true sea level variability corrupts the estimation of MSS gradients is discussed. A model is proposed to reduce the error, based on scaling climate indices such as the Southern Oscillation Index, while accounting for phase shifts using a Hilbert transform. After modeling and removing the seasonal and interannual sea level variations, parameters to a plane MSS model are estimated using TOPEX altimeter data from January 1993 to June 2000. Results indicate an overall improvement over the earlier model based on four years of data, and no apparent degradation due to aliasing of sea level variability.
Was this content written or created while at USF?
No
Citation / Publisher Attribution
Marine Geodesy, v. 25, issue 4, p. 273-288
Scholar Commons Citation
Chambers, Don P., "Effect of Sea Level Variability on the Estimation of Mean Sea Surface Gradients" (2002). Marine Science Faculty Publications. 1420.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/msc_facpub/1420
