Marine Science Faculty Publications
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-2009
Keywords
buoy observations, satellite observations, currents, ocean circulation
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1175/2009JTECHO672.1
Abstract
Presented here are three mean dynamic topography maps derived with different methodologies. The first method combines sea level observed by the high-accuracy satellite radar altimetry with the geoid model of the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), which has recently measured the earth’s gravity with unprecedented spatial resolution and accuracy. The second one synthesizes near-surface velocities from a network of ocean drifters, hydrographic profiles, and ocean winds sorted according to the horizontal scales. In the third method, these global datasets are used in the context of the ocean surface momentum balance. The second and third methods are used to improve accuracy of the dynamic topography on fine space scales poorly resolved in the first method. When they are used to compute a multiyear time-mean global ocean surface circulation on a 0.5° horizontal resolution, both contain very similar, new small-scale midocean current patterns. In particular, extensions of western boundary currents appear narrow and strong despite temporal variability and exhibit persistent meanders and multiple branching. Also, the locations of the velocity concentrations in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current become well defined. Ageostrophic velocities reveal convergent zones in each subtropical basin. These maps present a new context in which to view the continued ocean monitoring with in situ instruments and satellites.
Rights Information
Was this content written or created while at USF?
Yes
Citation / Publisher Attribution
Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, v. 26, issue 9, p. 1910-1919
Copyright 2009 American Meteorological Society
Scholar Commons Citation
Maximenko, Nikolai; Niiler, Peter; Rio, Marie-Helene; Melnichenko, Oleg; Centurioni, Luca; Galperin, Boris; Chambers, Don. P.; and Zlotnicki, Victor, "Mean Dynamic Topography of the Ocean Derived from Satellite and Drifting Buoy Data Using Three Different Techniques" (2009). Marine Science Faculty Publications. 191.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/msc_facpub/191
