The Effects of Atmospheric and Thermohaline Variability on the Validation of the GEOSAT Altimeter Oceanographic Signal between Scotland and Iceland

• Main Author: Minnett, P J
• Other Authors: SACLANT ASW RESEARCH CENTRE LA SPEZIA (ITALY)
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1987
• Subjects: Physical and Dynamic Oceanography; Meteorology; *ALTIMETERS; *EARTH ATMOSPHERE; ARTIFICIAL SATELLITES; CALIBRATION; EXPENDABLE; ICELAND; MEASUREMENT; OCEAN SURFACE; OCEANOGRAPHIC DATA; PROBES; PROFILES; RANGE FINDING; SCOTLAND; SIGNALS; SPACEBORNE; SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION; TEMPERATURE; TOPOGRAPHY; VALIDATION; BATHYTHERMOGRAPH DATA; MARINE ATMOSPHERES; SALINITY; VARIABLES; ERROR ANALYSIS; TRANSPONDERS; MICROWAVE EQUIPMENT; SEA WATER; IONOSPHERE; NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN; NATO furnished; COMPASS project; GEOSAT satellites; Ocean surface topography; Iceland; North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA189324; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA189324

Atmospheric and oceanographic profiles from the area between Scotland and Iceland are analysed in order to predict the magnitudes of the errors they can induce in satellite altimeter measurements of sea-surface topography. This is the area where the second phase of the COMPASS project will take place in early 1988, and the aim is to provide absolute calibration data for the GEOSAT altimeter by using coastal land-based active microwave transponders. While most of the variability in the sea-surface topography can be ascribed to variations in the temperature profile, the spatial changes in the temperature-salinity relationship are such that errors in the sea-surface topography predicted from measured temperature profiles can not be neglected. This means that the validation of the altimeter oceanographic signal can not be done in this area by using only the more readily-available temperature profiles from expendable probes. The atmospheric variability characteristic of this area can induce errors in the altimeter range measurement comparable to the oceanographic signal, and careful corrections are necessary. These will have to faithfully reflect the changes in atmospheric properties along the COMPASS arc.