Monthly Maps of Sea Surface Height in the North Atlantic and Zonal Indices for the Gulf Stream Using TOPEX/Poseidon Altimeter Data.

Abstract

Monthly Maps of sea surface height are constructed for the North Atlantic Ocean using TOPEX/Poseidon altimeter data. Mean sea surface height is reconstructed using a weighted combination of historical, hydrographic data and a synthetic mean obtained by fitting a Gaussian model of the Gulf Stream jet to altimeter data. The resultant mean shows increased resolution over the hydrographic mean, and incorporates recirculation information that is absent in the synthetic mean. Monthly maps, obtained by adding the mean field to altimeter sea surface height residuals, are used to derive a set of zonal indices that describe the annual cycle of meandering as well as position and strength of the Gulf Stream.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 1997
Accession Number
ADA327917

Entities

People

  • Kathryn A. Kelly
  • Sandipa Singh

Organizations

  • Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Altimeters
  • Atlantic Ocean
  • Curvature
  • Data Sets
  • Grids
  • Gulf Stream
  • Latitude
  • Longitude
  • New England
  • North Atlantic Ocean
  • Oceanography
  • Oceans
  • Residuals
  • Rhode Island
  • Transport Ships
  • Two Dimensional
  • Universities

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Approximation Theory.
  • Coastal Oceanography
  • Library and Information Science/ Studies, Southeast Asia Studies, Bibliography of Vietnam and Lao Studies.