A potential use of satellite derived upper ocean heat content for studying climate variability: an example for the South Atlantic
Abstract. The lack of continuous long-term hydrographic observations, especially in the South Atlantic Ocean, makes satellite-derived data an extremely useful tool to investigate time and spatial variability on a basin scale. Altimeter data, which is not affected by cloud coverage as infrared-derive...
Main Authors: | , , , , |
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Other Authors: | |
Format: | Text |
Language: | English |
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Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.543.9129 http://marte.dpi.inpe.br/col/ltid.inpe.br/sbsr/2004/11.19.16.28/doc/3619.pdf |
Summary: | Abstract. The lack of continuous long-term hydrographic observations, especially in the South Atlantic Ocean, makes satellite-derived data an extremely useful tool to investigate time and spatial variability on a basin scale. Altimeter data, which is not affected by cloud coverage as infrared-derived data, provides extremely useful information on the vertical thermal and dynamical structure of the upper ocean when combined with climatological hydrographic through a diagnostic model. We present a semi-dynamic model that combines sea surface height anomalies from TOPEX/POSEIDON, infrared satellite-derived sea surface temperature, and World Ocean Atlas 2001 hydrographic data to generate maps of the Upper Ocean Heat Content Anomaly which is suitable for climate variability studies. |
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