Synthetic Temperature Profile in the Gulf of Mexico. Part 1. Statistical Relationship Between Modal Amplitudes and Dynamic Height at Surface
Abstract
The feasibility of estimating temperature profiles (synthetic temperature profiles) from Geodetic Earth Orbiting Satellite (GEOSAT) altimeter- derived sea-surface heights in the Gulf Stream region has been explored. The scheme was based on a statistical relationship between sea surface heights and subsurface temperature profiles derived by deWitt. DeWitt found that the first two empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs) of the temperature profiles represented more than 95 percent of the overall temperature variance. Furthermore, he found that there is a tight relationship between relative dynamic height and amplitude of the first two EOF modes. This relationship was used to generate the synthetic temperature profiles from GEOSAT data. The synthetic temperature profiles compared well with the expendable bathythermograph (XBT) measurements. In this study the temperature and salinity profiles in the Gulf of Mexico were collected and analyzed. Then the deWitt scheme was employed. The feasibility of using sea-surface heights to estimate temperature profiles (synthetic profiles) in the Gulf of Mexico was investigated.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1992
- Accession Number
- ADA252701
Entities
People
- Dong S. Ko