THE USE OF SATELLITE DERIVED UPPER OCEAN HEAT CONTENT TO THE STUDY OF CLIMATE VARIABILITY IN THE SOUTH ATLANTIC

• Main Authors: Edmo J. D. Campos, Carlos A. D. Lentini, Wilton Z. Arruda
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; Portuguese
• Published: Universidade Federal de Uberlândia 2005
• Subjects: Altimeter data; SHA; South Atlantic Thermocline Waters; upper layer thickness; two-layer model; Geography. Anthropology. Recreation; G; Cartography; GA101-1776; South Atlantic Ocean
• Online Access: https://doaj.org/article/8a46c22ca21245fba49afb116e29acdb

The lack of continuous long-term hydrographic observations, especially in the South Atlantic Ocean, makes satellite-derived data a key 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 data 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 from NOAA/AVHRR, and World Ocean Atlas 2001 hydrographic data to generate maps of the Upper Ocean Heat Content Anomaly which are suitable for climate variability studies.