Seafloor mapping from high-density satellite altimetry

In this paper, we publish the results of a bathymetry survey based on the processing of satellite altimetry data. Data gathered from GEOSAT (Geodetic Mission), SEASAT, ERS-1 and TOPEX/POSEIDON satellites were processed to recover the seafloor topography over new seamounts in a test area located in the south central Pacific. We show that by processing high-density satellite altimetry data, alone or in combination with shiptrack bathymetric data, it is possible to produce full coverage bathymetric maps.     

利用多代卫星测高数据计算海洋重力场

联合Jason-1/2、T/P、Envisat、ERS-1/2、Geosat等多代卫星测高数据计算中国近海及邻域（0°~42°N,100°~140°E）2′×2′重力异常。对卫星测高数据分别进行共线处理和自交叉点平差,并以T/P卫星测高数据为基准进行多星数据联合平差,有效削弱了卫星测高数据的时变影响和不协调性;利用逆Vening-Meinesz公式计算重力异常,与船测重力相比,均方根误差为5.4mGal。结果表明,通过引入高精度的卫星测高数据,结合多项平差处理手段,提高了海洋重力异常的计算精度。     

Combined satellite altimetry and shipborne gravimetry data processing

The recovery of quantities related to the gravity field (i.e., geoid heights and gravity anomalies) is carried out in a test area of the central Mediterranean Sea using 5' × 5' marine gravity data and satellite altimeter data from the Geodetic Mission (GM) of ERS‐J. The optimal combination of the two heterogeneous data sources is performed using (1) the space‐domain least‐squares collocation (LSC) method, and (2) the frequency‐domain input‐output system theory (IOST). The results derived by these methods agree at the level of 2 cm in terms of standard deviation in the case of the geoid height prediction. The gravity anomaly prediction results by the same methods vary between 2.18 and 2.54 mGal in terms of standard deviation. In all cases, the spectral techniques have a much higher computational efficiency than the collocation procedure. In order to investigate the importance of satellite altimetry for gravity field modeling, a pure gravimetric geoid solution, carried out in a previous study for our lest area by the fast collocation approach (FCOL), is used in comparison with the combined geoid models. The combined solutions give more accurate results, at the level of about 15 cm in terms of standard deviation, than the gravimetric geoid solution, when the geoid heights derived by each method are compared with TOPEX altimeter sea surface heights (SSHs). Moreover, nonisotropic power spectral density functions (PSDs) can be easily used by IOST, while LSC requires isotropic covariance functions. The results show that higher prediction accuracies are always obtained when using a priori nonisotropic information instead of isotropic information.     

利用多代卫星测高数据计算中国近海及邻域重力异常

为提高海洋重力场数据的精度和空间分辨率,联合Jason-1/2、T/P、Envisat、ERS-1/2、Geosat等多代卫星测高数据计算中国近海及邻域(0°~42°N,100°~140°E)2′×2′重力异常。对卫星测高数据分别进行共线处理和自交叉点平差,并以T/P卫星测高数据为基准进行多星数据联合平差,有效削弱了卫星测高数据的时变影响和不协调性;利用逆Vening-Meinesz公式计算重力异常,与船测重力相比,均方根误差为5.4 mgal。结果表明,通过引入高精度的卫星测高数据,结合多项平差处理手段,提高了海洋重力异常的计算精度。     

A comparison between 3DVAR and EnOI techniques for satellite altimetry data assimilation

Two conceptually different assimilation schemes, three dimensional variational (3DVAR) assimilation and Ensemble Optimum Interpolation (EnOI) are compared in the context of satellite altimetric data assimilation. Similarities and differences of the two schemes are briefly discussed and their impacts on the model simulation are investigated.With a tropical Pacific ocean model, two assimilation experiments of sea level anomaly (SLA) data from TOPEX/Poseidon are performed for 5 years from 1997 to 2001. Annual mean states of temperature and salinity fields are compared with analysis data and some independent observations. It is found that EnOI generally produces moderate improvements on both temperature and salinity fields, while changes induced by 3DVAR assimilation are strong and vary remarkably in different areas. For instance, 3DVAR tends to excessively modify the temperature field along the thermocline depth and even deteriorate the simulation, but it is more effective than EnOI below the thermocline depth. However, for the salinity field 3DVAR outperforms EnOI nearly for almost the whole layer. As the difference relative to the WOA01 analysis is compared, it is apparently reduced to below 0.3 psu in most areas in the 3DVAR experiment. On the other hand, the pattern of difference in the EnOI experiment resembles that of the simulation and the magnitude is only diminished to some extent. One advantage of EnOI is that it yields more consistent improvements even in areas where there are large model errors. It is more reliable than 3DVAR in such a sense. It is also revealed that the T–S relation plays a very important role in altimetric data assimilation. Further, the distinct performance of the two schemes can be partly accounted for by their inherent assumptions and settings.     

基于卫星高度计资料提取浙江近海的潮汐信息

利用Topex/Poseidon(T/P)、Jason-1和Jason-2卫星24a的原始轨道及6a的变轨轨道高度计资料,对浙江近海区域内进行潮汐调和分析,得到8个主要分潮(Q_1、O_1、P_1、K_1、N_2、M_2、S_2和K_2)的调和常数.比较卫星轨道交叉点处潮汐调和常数结果显示,8个分潮总体综合误差在原始轨道,变轨轨道及原始轨道与变轨轨道交叉点处的和方根RSS值分别为3.16、7.02、5.54cm;用卫星高度计资料及31个近岸验潮站得到的潮汐分布与21个验潮站资料结果进行比较,M_2、S_2、N_2、K_1和O_1主要分潮的多点向量均方根偏差分别为4.32、3.64、1.97、2.61、1.83 cm;本研究结果与前人数值模拟结果比较显示M2、S2分潮在对比点处的多点向量均方根偏差在11、8 cm左右,最后给出了浙江近岸及近海区域更为精确的5个主要分潮(M_2、S_2、N_2、K_1和O_1)的同潮图.     

卫星测高技术应用研究回顾与展望

简要介绍了笔者所在单位近十年来密切跟踪世界发展动态,灵活运用高新技术,致力于卫星测高技术应用研究所取得的一些有理论意义和实用价值的成果,这些成果主要包括四个方面：卫星测高径向轨道误差时域和空域特征分析、卫星测高反演海洋重力场、卫星测高反演海底地形以及利用测高重力异常扩展超高阶地球位模型研究成果。最后对这一研究领域未来的发展方向作了展望。     

Utilization of high resolution satellite gravity over the Carlsberg Ridge

The Carlsberg Ridge lies between the equator and the Owen fracture zone. It is the most prominent mid-ocean ridge segment of the western Indian Ocean, which contains a number of earthquake epicenters. Satellite altimetry can be used to infer subsurface geological structures analogous to gravity anomaly maps generated through ship-borne survey. In this study, free-air gravity and its 3D image have been generated over the Carlsberg Ridge using a very high resolution data base, as obtained from Geosat GM, ERS-1, Seasat and TOPEX/POSEIDON altimeter data. As observed in this study, the Carlsberg Ridge shows a slow spreading characteristic with a deep and wide graben (average width ∼15 km). The transform fault spacing confirms variable slow to intermediate characteristics with first and second order discontinuities. The isostatically compensated region of the Carlsberg Ridge could be demarcated with near zero contour values in the free-air gravity anomaly images over and along the Carlsberg Ridge axes and over most of the fracture zone patterns. Few profiles have been generated across the Carlsberg Ridge and the characteristics of slow/intermediate spreading ridge of various orders of discontinuity could be identified. It has also been observed in zero contour image as well as in the characteristics of valley patterns along the ridge from NW to SE that different spreading rates, from slow to intermediate, are occurring in different parts of the Carlsberg ridge. It maintains the morphology of a slow spreading ridge in the NW, where the wide and deep axial valley (∼1.5–3 km) also implies the pattern of a slow spreading ridge. However, a change in the morphology/depth of the axial valley from NW to SE indicates the nature of the Carlsberg Ridge as a slow to intermediate spreading ridge. For the prevailing security restrictions, lat./lon. coordinates have been omitted in few images.     

利用卫星测高、GRACE和GOCE资料估计全球海洋表面地转流

重力恢复和气候试验GRACE(gravity recovery and climate experiment)卫星极大地提高了地球重力场的精度和分辨率,特别是中长波分量,联合卫星测高数据可获得全球海洋表面大尺度洋流循环。另外,新一代地球重力和海洋环流探测卫星GOCE(gravity field and steady-state ocean circulation explorer)于2009年3月成功发射,采用卫星重力梯度测量原理,对重力场的高频部分非常敏感,使其高分辨率监测全球海洋循环成为可能。本文利用1~7年GRACE观测数据确定的重力场模型和18个月GOCE观测数据确定的地球重力场模型GO_CONS_GCF_2_TIM_R3,联合卫星测高确定的平均海面高模型MSS_CNES_CLS_11,分别估计全球海洋表面地转流,并且与实测浮标数据结果进行比较。分析表明GOCE重力卫星确定的重力场模型具有更高的空间分辨率,能够确定高精度和高空间分辨率的全球海洋地转流,如墨西哥湾暖流的细节和特征,并且与实测浮标结果基本一致。而基于1~4年GRACE观测资料的模型不能很好估计全球地转流特征,基于7年GRACE观测资料的重力场模型ITG-Grace2010s确定的全球地转流的精度仍低于18个月GOCE观测数据确定的地球重力场模型GO_CONS_GCF_2_TIM_R3的结果,估计的全球地转流仍含有较大的噪声,不能很好地反应中小尺度地转流细节特征。并计算ITG_Grace2010s和GOCE_TIM3的稳态海面地形和全球平均地转流的内符合精度,结果显示,在全球范围内,GOCE_TIM3的稳态海面地形和全球平均地转流的精度都比ITG_Grace2010s结果的精度有着很大的改善,其中ITG_Grace2010s的稳态海面地形的精度为21.6cm,而GOCE_TIM3的结果则为7.45cm,ITG_Grace2010s的全球平均地转流的精度为40.7cm/s,而GOCE_TIM3的结果则为19.6cm/s。     

Global Bathymetry and Elevation Data at 30 Arc Seconds Resolution: SRTM30_PLUS

A new 30-arc second resolution global topography/bathymetry grid (SRTM30_PLUS) has been developed from a wide variety of data sources. Land and ice topography comes from the SRTM30 and ICESat topography, respectively. Ocean bathymetry is based on a new satellite-gravity model where the gravity-to-topography ratio is calibrated using 298 million edited soundings. The main contribution of this study is the compilation and editing of the raw soundings, which come from NOAA, individual scientists, SIO, NGA, JAMSTEC, IFREMER, GEBCO, and NAVOCEANO. The gridded bathymetry is available for ftp download in the same format as the 33 tiles of SRTM30 topography. There are 33 matching tiles of source identification number to convey the provenance of every grid cell. The raw sounding data, converted to a simple common format, are also available for ftp download.     

Along-track gravity anomalies from Geostat and Seasat altimetry: GEBCO overlays

To provide easy access to the large number of Seastat and Geosat altimeter observations collected over the last decade, we have plotted these satellite altimeter profiles as overlays to the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO). Each of the 32 overlays displays along-track gravity anomalies for either ascending (southeast to northwest) or descending (northeast to southwest) altimeter passes. Where Seasat and Geosat profiles coincide, only the more accurate Geosat profiles were plotted. In poorly charted southern ocean areas, satellite altimeter profiles reveal many previously undetected features of the seafloor.     

Seamount detection and size estimation using filtered geosat altimetry data

Local changes in the marine geoid (<100 nm in size) correspond well with bathymetric features such as seamounts. Thus the marine geoid height may be used to verify existing features, predict the bathymetry of unsurveyed areas, and fill gaps in existing data. The application of matching high‐pass filters to both the geoid and bathymetry data of an area allows the regional trends to be removed so that only the features remain. Filter values that begin to pass data with wavelengths less than 125 miles and all data with wave lengths less than 70 miles were selected. The high‐frequency variations of the geoid can then be correlated to the bathymetry and a scaling factor between the two calculated. The highest correlations (.81) were achieved using a cut‐off value for the filtered geoid data. A gridded synthetic bathymetry file was created by scaling the filtered geoid to the filtered bathymetry and adding the low pass background bathymetry. The gridded historical bathymetry could then be subtracted from the synthetic bathymetry in an automated method to display probable new features. A final selection of 458 previously unreported major features was then made.     

运用调和分析方法分离卫星高度计资料中的潮汐信息

针对TOPEX／POSEIDON卫星高度计资料中的潮汐高频混淆现象，采用潮汐调和分析方法，通过比较卫星上、下行轨道交叉点两组资料分析的分潮振幅和分离潮汐后的海面高度；同时比较潮位站实测资料与遥感资料分析的分潮振幅，结果表明：采用潮汐调和分析可以有效地分离高度计资料中的潮汐信息。     

Assessment of Cryosat-2 and SARAL/AltiKa altimetry for measuring inland water and coastal sea level variations: A case study on Tibetan Plateau lake and Taiwan Coast

Satellite altimetry has been proven as an effective technology to accurately measure water level, ice elevation, and flat land surface changes since the 1990s. To overcome limitations of pulse-limited altimetry, new altimetric missions such as Cryosat-2 and Satellite with ARgos and AltiKa (SARAL/AltiKa), have been designed to have higher along-track spatial resolution to measure more accurately inland water levels for small water bodies, and coastal sea level changes. In this study, we evaluate the performance of Cryosat-2 low-resolution (LRM) and SARin modes and SARAL/AltiKa Ka-band data on two connected lakes in central Tibetan Plateau, and in the coastal region of Taiwan. Results are compared with in situ tide gauge data in Taiwan and altimetric lake level time series from the CNES Hydroweb database. Our results show that water level change trends observed by Cryosat-2 20-Hz retracked observations, the SARAL/AltiKa 40-Hz Ice-1 retracked data, and the Hydroweb measurements are consistent with the estimated water level trend of ～0.30?m/y, during 2011–2017, and 2013–2015, for the Tibetan Migriggyangzham Co and Dorsoidong Co, respectively. For the coastal region, the performance of SARAL/AltiKa is better than that of Cryosat-2 LRM data in Taiwan. This finding demonstrates the superiority of the Ka-band over Ku-band radar altimetry.     

Persian gulf and Oman sea tide modeling using satellite altimetry and tide gauge data (TM-IR01)

Satellite altimetry observations and tide gauge data are invaluable tools to diagnose and resolve tidal constituents over the Oceans and Seas. The aim of this study is to introduce a new purely empirical tide model named TM-IR01 in the Persian Gulf, Oman Sea, and North Indian Ocean. The observations of three altimeter sensors including TOPEX/POSIDON, JASON1, and JASON2 and 13 coastal tide gauge (TG) stations are processed and analyzed in this research. First of all, the least square spectral analysis is utilized to recover the significant tide components and consequently the amplitude and phases of the constituents are found during the tide modeling. Finally, the analysis results are interpolated into a grid of 1/4° using the Kriging method. TM-IR01 model is validated by comparing with TG stations and global tide models. It is shown that for main tidal frequencies M2, S2, K1, and O1 the root mean square error (RMSE) between TM-IR01 and TG stations results are 0.372, 0.130, 0.141, and 0.084?m, respectively, and also the RMSE between TM-IR01 and FES2004 models are 0.231, 0.087, 0.027, and 0.042?m, respectively. Validating with FES2012 and Tpxo7.2, the results obtained are close to the above values.     

The construction of high precision geostrophic currents based on new gravity models of GOCE and satellite altimetry data

The new gravity field models of gravity field and steady-state ocean circulation explorer(GOCE), TIM_R6 and DIR_R6, were released by the European Space Agency(ESA) in June 2019. The sixth generation of gravity models have the highest possible signal and lowest error levels compared with other GOCE-only gravity models, and the accuracy is significantly improved. This is an opportunity to build high precision geostrophic currents. The mean dynamic topography and geostrophic currents have been calculated by the 5 th(TIM_R5 and DIR_R5), 6 th(TIM_R6 and DIR_R6) release of GOCE gravity field models and ITSG-Grace2018 of GRACE gravity field model in this study. By comparison with the drifter results, the optimal filtering lengths of them have been obtained(for DIR_R5, DIR_R6, TIM_R5 and TIM_R6 models are 1° and for ITSG-Grace2018 model is 1.1°). The filtered results show that the geostrophic currents obtained by the GOCE gravity field models can better reflect detailed characteristics of ocean currents. The total geostrophic speed based on the TIM_R6 model is similar to the result of the DIR_R6 model with standard deviation(STD) of 0.320 m/s and 0.321 m/s, respectively. The STD of the total velocities are 0.333 m/s and 0.325 m/s for DIR_R5 and TIM_R5. When compared with ITSG-Grace2018 results, the STD(0.344 m/s) of total geostrophic speeds is larger than GOCE results, and the accuracy of geostrophic currents obtained by ITSG-Grace2018 is lower. And the absolute errors are mainly distributed in the areas with faster speeds, such as the Antarctic circumpolar circulation, equatorial region, Kuroshio and Gulf Stream areas. After the remove-restore technique was applied to TIM_R6 MDT, the STD of total geostrophic speeds dropped to 0.162 m/s.     

Estimating trends of the Mediterranean Sea level changes from tide gauge and satellite altimetry data (1993-2015)

The impact of climate change on sea level has received a great deal of attention by scientists worldwide. In this context, the problem of sea levels on global and regional scales have been analyzed in a number of studies based on tide gauges observations and satellite altimetry measurements. This study focuses on trend estimates from 18 high-quality tide gauge stations along the Mediterranean Sea coast. The seasonal Mann-Kendall test was run at a 5% significance level for each of the 18 stations for the period of 1993-2015 (satellite altimetry era). The results of this test indicate that the trends for 17 stations were statistically significant and showed an increase (no significant trend was observed only at one station). The rates of sea level change for the 17 stations that exhibit significant trends, estimated using seasonal Sen's approach, range after correction for Vertical Land Motion (VLM) from 1.48 to 8.72 mm/a for the period 1993-2015. Furthermore, the magnitude of change at the location of each tide gauge station was estimated using the satellite altimetry measurements. Thus, the results obtained agree with those from the tide-gauge data analysis.     

两种测高重力异常反演海底地形方法比较

针对基于测高重力异常反演海底地形理论众多、选取标准无法确定的情况,利用中国南海海域内的测高重力异常和船测水深数据研究比较了重力地质法(GGM)和Smith&Sandwell (SAS)法两种精度高、计算速度相对较快的海底地形反演理论。其中,GGM方法的密度差异常数Δρ由向下延拓技术确定为2.15 g·cm^-3,SAS方法采用移去-恢复技术得到反演波段内重力异常和水深数据。结果表明:测线分布条件一定时,水深多在-1 000 m左右或反演区域岛礁、海山等复杂海底地形较多时选取SAS方法,水深主要在-3 000 m以深的区域或海底地形复杂程度不高时选取GGM方法则能获取更好的效果,其效果最优处与船测水深在检核点处的差值最优平均值能达-0.61 m,标准差可达14.67 m。     

Determining the Gravitational Gradient Tensor Using Satellite-Altimetry Observations over the Persian Gulf

With the advent of satellite altimetry in 1973, new scientific applications became available in oceanography, climatology, and marine geosciences. Moreover, satellite altimetry provides a significant source of information facilitated in the geoid determination with a high accuracy and spatial resolution. The information from this approach is a sufficient alternate for marine gravity data in the high-frequency modeling of the marine gravity field quantities. The gravity gradient tensor, consisting of the second-order partial derivatives of the gravity potential, provides more localized information than gravity measurements. Marine gravity observations always carry a high noise level due to environmental effects. Moreover, it is not possible to model the high frequencies of the Earth's gravity field in a global scale using these observations. In this article, we introduce a novel approach for a determination of the gravity gradient tensor at sea level using satellite altimetry. Two numerical techniques are applied and compared for this purpose. In particular, we facilitate the radial basis functions (RBFs) and the harmonic splines. As a case study, the gravitational gradient tensor is determined and results presented in the Persian Gulf. Validation of results reveals that the solution of the harmonic spline approach has a better agreement with a theoretical zero-value of the trace of the Marussi gravitational gradient tensor. However, the data-adaptive technique in the RBF approach allows more efficient selection of the parameters and 3-D configuration of RBFs compared to a fixed parameterization by the harmonic splines.