Applications of satellite altimetry to oceanography and geophysics

Satellite-borne altimeters have had a profound impact on geodesy, geophysics, and physical oceanography. To first order approximation, profiles of sea surface height are equivalent to the geoid and are highly correlated with seafloor topography for wavelengths less than 1000 km. Using all available Geos-3 and Seasat altimeter data, mean sea surfaces and geoid gradient maps have been computed for the Bering Sea and the South Pacific. When enhanced using hill-shading techniques, these images reveal in graphic detail the surface expression of seamounts, ridges, trenches, and fracture zones. Such maps are invaluable in oceanic regions where bathymetric data are sparse. Superimposed on the static geoid topography is dynamic topography due to ocean circulation. Temporal variability of dynamic height due to oceanic eddies can be determined from time series of repeated altimeter profiles. Maps of sea height variability and eddy kinetic energy derived from Geos-3 and Seasat altimetry in some cases represent improvements over those derived from standard oceanographic observations. Measurement of absolute dynamic height imposes stringent requirements on geoid and orbit accuracies, although existing models and data have been used to derive surprisingly realistic global circulation solutions. Further improvement will only be made when advances are made in geoid modeling and precision orbit determination. In contrast, it appears that use of altimeter data to correct satellite orbits will enable observation of basin-scale sea level variations of the type associated with climatic phenomena.     

Improving the Coastal Mean Dynamic Topography by Geodetic Combination of Tide Gauge and Satellite Altimetry

Abstract

The ocean mean dynamic topography (MDT) is the surface representation of the ocean circulation. The MDT may be determined by the ocean approach, which involves temporal averaging of numerical ocean circulation model information, or by the geodetic approach, wherein the MDT is derived using the ellipsoidal height of the mean sea surface (MSS), or mean sea level (MSL) minus the geoid as the geoid. The ellipsoidal height of the MSS might be estimated either by satellite or coastal tide gauges by connecting the tide gauge datum to the Earth-centred reference frame. In this article we present a novel approach to improve the coastal MDT, where the solution is based on both satellite altimetry and tide gauge data using new set of 302 tide gauges with ellipsoidal heights through the SONEL network. The approach was evaluated for the Northeast Atlantic coast where a dense network of GNSS-surveyed tide gauges is available. The typical misfit between tide gauge and satellite or oceanographic MDT was found to be around 9?cm. This misfit was found to be mainly due to small scale geoid errors. Similarly, we found, that a single tide gauge places only weak constraints on the coastal dynamic topography.     

我国海洋卫星数据应用发展现状与思考

海洋科学是一门依赖于观测的学科, 而卫星是海洋研究的重要观测平台之一, 海洋卫星数据在海洋科学研究中具有重要的意义。21世纪初以来, 我国陆续发射了多颗专门用于海洋观测的卫星, 初步拥有自主海洋卫星全球观测网络。本文针对国内外海洋卫星资源基本情况, 总结了我国海洋卫星数据应用发展现状, 特别是海洋卫星数据接收、处理、管理、应用等方面的情况, 并分析、探讨了我国海洋科学研究对卫星数据的需求, 以及我国海洋卫星数据科学应用存在的问题和发展策略。     

Revealing pelagic habitat use: the tagging of Pacific pelagics program

Tagging of Pacific pelagics (TOPP) is a pilot program of the Census of marine life (CoML) that will lead to understanding of pelagic habitat use by marine vertebrates and large squid in the North Pacific. Taking a multispecies approach, the TOPP project will use a range of electronic tag technologies to put the distribution and behavior of pelagic organisms in the context of the oceanography of the North Pacific. Tag-bearing animals will be used as autonomous ocean profilers to enhance sparse oceanographic observations for vast ocean regions. These autonomous ocean samplers will provide unprecedented coverage of the water column structure of the North Pacific. The temporal and spatial data generated by this project will provide an “organism-eye” view of several interactive oceanic regimes in the North Pacific. Twenty target species, including tunas, sharks, pinnipeds, cetaceans, seabirds, and marine turtles, will be monitored with electronic tags. Animal-collected oceanic data will be assimilated into global ocean databases, complement traditional methodologies and be used to help validate nearshore, regional, and basin scale ocean models. As more environmental information is gathered and delivered from the tagged animals, new insights will be obtained about their individual behaviors, as well as how diverse species have separately evolved to forage, reproduce, and survive in the vast pelagic environment. This multi-disciplinary approach will allow a novel merger of biological and physical data to provide a new understanding of the relationship between the movements and behaviors of marine organisms and oceanographic processes in the eastern North Pacific.     

A review of the National Oceanic Satellite System (NOSS) and prospects for ocean remote sensing in the near future

Abstract

The concept of sensing oceanic parameters from space has been clearly demonstrated by the data from NASA's SEASAT. As the next step, a triagency team from NASA, NOAA, and DOD developed a program for a national system, the National Oceanic Satellite System (NOSS). The NOSS was to be an end‐to‐end system, a five‐year quasi‐operational demonstration to satisfy the most critical of the user agencies (NOAA and Navy) requirements for oceanographic data. Unfortunately, NOSS became an early victim of the Administration's efforts to reduce the Federal budget. The search for less costly (less capable) alternatives continues. In the meantime, the accuracy of our operational forecasts suffers and critical requirements go unsatisfied.     

Mesoscale features and phytoplankton biomass at the GoodHope line in the Southern Ocean during austral summer

Two sets of high-resolution subsurface hydrographic and underway surface chlorophyll a (Chl a) measurements are used, in conjunction with satellite remotely sensed data, to investigate the upper layer oceanography (mesoscale features and mixed layer depth variability) and phytoplankton biomass at the GoodHope line south of Africa, during the 2010–2011 austral summer. The link between physical parameters of the upper ocean, specifically frontal activity, to the spatially varying in situ and satellite measurements of Chl a concentrations is investigated. The observations provide evidence to show that the fronts act to both enhance phytoplankton biomass as well as to delimit regions of similar chlorophyll concentrations, although the front–chlorophyll relationships become obscure towards the end of the growing season due to bloom advection and ‘patchy’ Chl a behaviour. Satellite ocean colour measurements are compared to in situ chlorophyll measurements to assess the disparity between the two sampling techniques. The scientific value of the time-series of oceanographic observations collected at the GoodHope line between 2004 to present is being realised. Continued efforts in this programme are essential to better understand both the physical and biogeochemical dynamics of the upper ocean in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean.     

Determination of instantaneous sea surface,wave heights,and ocean currents using satellite observations of the global positioning system

Abstract

Using GPS phase observations in the kinematic mode, we are able to achieve centimeter accuracy in relative three‐dimensional coordinates. This could be verified even for fast‐moving sensors in aircraft, such as airborne photogrammetric cameras, at the time of exposure. Sophisticated kinematic software has been developed resolving cycle slips and carrier‐phase ambiguities during motion. To determine the instantaneous sea surface, the GPS receiver is placed in a free‐drifting buoy with the antenna on top. Differencing the 1‐Hz observations, wave heights can be determined as well as velocity and direction of ocean (tidal) currents.

This article deals with the experiences from a test for the practical realization of this proposal. Hardware installation, software, and data analysis are described. Plans to use such an observational scenario of a GPS buoy array in the North Sea for the calibration of the radar altimeter of the European satellite ERS‐1 are presented.     

Marine Geodesy (1975–1979)— to the International Association of Geodesy,Section 1

Abstract

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have been developed during the last decade. Their land‐based applications range from land information management, urban planning, and environmental research to engineering design and management in the utility and oil industries, geological subsurface analysis, and others. However, applications of GIS in the marine environment are still in the initial stages. This may be due to, among other things, the large marine data sets, the demands of 3D data processing, and the difficulty of ocean data acquisition.

This article presents the result of the development of an integrated Marine Geographic Information System (MGIS) for the exploration and development of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the U.S. Pacific Islands region by the Pacific Mapping Center, University of Hawaii. Features such as spatial marine data processing, integration of GIS and mapping systems, 3D data structures, and simulation and animation of marine operations are developed and applied in this system. Since MGIS applications in EEZ are related to many disciplines in marine sciences and engineering, an operational MGIS should be an integrated system in which both basic GIS and marine application systems are combined into a single geo‐referenced system, In addition to other applications, this MGIS has been used: (1) to select a potential deep‐water research site off the island of Hawaii for the State of Hawaii Department of Business, Economic, and Development (DBED); (2) to generate a three‐dimensional database and use it for the navigation and simulation of underwater operations of an underwater research vehicle; and (3) to produce two 2° × 2° mosaic sheets of sonar images, which meet the USGS standard for a sonar image atlas.     

Power and perspective: Fisheries and the ocean commons beset by demands of development

Marine renewable energy (MRE), though a relative newcomer to the ocean and coastal commons, has become a significant driver of marine spatial planning in the US, posing particular challenges to commercial fisheries and fishing communities. State and federal agencies with primary oversight for MRE development have focused on the identification of places where MRE might proceed unhindered by other uses, most notably coastal fisheries. These agencies and MRE developers have focused on potential space-use conflict and standard mitigation measures for loss of access to that space. However, discussions with fishery participants and other community members, as well as observations of processes on the US West and East Coasts, reveal a complex, multi-faceted social–ecological system not easily parsed out among users, nor amenable to classic mitigation formulas. Recent ethnographic research on potential space-use conflicts and mitigation for MRE demonstrates that marine space use is dynamic and multi-dimensional, with important linkages among fisheries, communities and other interests. Although experiences vary within and across regions and fishing communities, this research illustrates the weak position of fishing communities in marine spatial planning in the context of MRE development. This paper considers the implications of MRE for US East and West Coast fisheries and fishing communities situated within the larger context of neoliberalism and commodification of the ocean commons.     

Ocean tides for satellite geodesy

Abstract

Spherical harmonic tidal solutions have been obtained at the frequencies of the 32 largest luni‐solar tides using prior theory of the author. That theory was developed for turbulent, nonglobal, self‐gravitating, and loading oceans possessing realistic bathymetry and linearized bottom friction; the oceans satisfy no‐flow boundary conditions at coastlines. In this theory the eddy viscosity and bottom drag coefficients are treated as spatially uniform. Comparison of the predicted degree‐2 components of the Mf, PI, and M2 tides with those from numerical and satellite‐based tide models allows the ocean friction parameters to be estimated at long and short periods. Using the 32 tide solutions, the frequency dependence of tidal admittance is investigated, and the validity of sideband tide models used in satellite orbit analysis is examined. The implications of admittance variability for oceanic resonances are also explored. By extending the theory to include a second constraint derived from tide observations or data‐constrained tide models, it is possible to assess those models from a fluid dynamic perspective. One general conclusion from such exercises is that the large higher‐degree admittances of current short‐period tide models are dynamically incompatible with their degree‐2 admittances. Eventually it may prove possible to produce dynamically sound, observationally consistent tide models by combining the author's tide theory with satellite orbit determination.     

Global circulation from SEASAT altimeter data

Abstract

A set of time‐averaged sea surface heights at 1° intervals, derived from the adjusted SEASAT altimeter data, and the GEML2 gravity field are used to estimate the long‐wavelength stationary sea surface topography. In order to reduce the leakage of energy in the estimated sea surface topography, the GEML2 field is augmented by the Rapp81 gravity field to generate geoidal undulations with wavelengths consistent with the ones of sea surface heights. These undulations are subtracted from the sea surface heights, and the resulting differences are subjected to filtering in order to recover sea surface topography with minimum wavelengths of 6000 km and an estimated accuracy of 20–25 cm. These estimates agree well with oceanographic and other satellite‐derived results.

The direction of current flow can be computed on a global basis using the spherical harmonic expansion of sea surface topography. This is done not only for the SEASAT/GEML2 estimates, but also using the recent dynamic topography estimates of Levitus. The results of the two solutions are very similar and agree well with the major circulation features of the oceans.     

Analysis of southeast Australian zooplankton observations of 1938-42 using synoptic oceanographic conditions

The research vessel Warreen obtained 1742 planktonic samples along the continental shelf and slope of southeast Australia from 1938-42, representing the earliest spatially and temporally resolved zooplankton data from Australian marine waters. In this paper, Warreen observations along the southeast Australian seaboard from 28°S to 38°S are interpreted based on synoptic meteorological and oceanographic conditions and ocean climatologies. Meteorological conditions are based on the NOAA-CIRES 20th Century Reanalysis Project; oceanographic conditions use Warreen hydrological observations, and the ocean climatology is the CSIRO Atlas of Regional Seas. The Warreen observations were undertaken in waters on average 0.45 °C cooler than the climatological average, and included the longest duration El Niño of the 20th century. In northern New South Wales (NSW), week time-scale events dominate zooplankton response. In August 1940 an unusual winter upwelling event occurred in northern NSW driven by a stronger than average East Australian Current (EAC) and anomalous northerly winds that resulted in high salp and larvacean abundance. In January 1941 a strong upwelling event between 28° and 33°S resulted in a filament of upwelled water being advected south and alongshore, which was low in zooplankton biovolume. In southern NSW a seasonal cycle in physical and planktonic characteristics is observed. In January 1941 the poleward extension of the EAC was strong, advecting more tropical tunicate species southward. Zooplankton abundance and distribution on the continental shelf and slope are more dependent on weekly to monthly timescales on local oceanographic and meteorological conditions than continental-scale interannual trends. The interpretation of historical zooplankton observations of the waters off southeast Australia for the purpose of quantifying anthropogenic impacts will be improved with the use of regional hindcasts of synoptic ocean and atmospheric weather that can explain some of the physically forced natural variability.     

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.     

全球海洋观测系统及我们的对策初探

全球海洋观测系统（ Ｇ Ｏ Ｏ Ｓ－ ｔｈｅ Ｇｌｏｂａｌ Ｏｃｅａｎ Ｏｂｓｅｒｖｉｎｇ Ｓｙｓｔｅｍ） 是一个新型的、根据用户需要对海洋资料进行获取、收集、质量控制和分发的全球性业务化系统。它由气候、海洋生物资源、海洋健康、海岸带环境和海洋服务等五个模块组成。 Ｇ Ｏ Ｏ Ｓ 计划目前已由概念设计阶段进入到地区性示范阶段,东北亚 Ｇ Ｏ Ｏ Ｓ 计划和欧洲 Ｇ Ｏ Ｏ Ｓ 计划已取得一些进展。 Ｇ Ｏ Ｏ Ｓ 计划已受到世界各海洋国家的关注和支持,参与的国家越来越多。本文介绍了 Ｇ Ｏ Ｏ Ｓ 计划的背景、目标、任务和 Ｇ Ｏ Ｏ Ｓ系统的构成,简述了迄今取得的进展,讨论了我们从参与 Ｇ Ｏ Ｏ Ｓ 计划可获得的效益,并对我国实施 Ｇ Ｏ Ｏ Ｓ 计划提出了一些建议。     

我国海洋初级生产力研究二十年

回顾和论述了我国学者近 2 0年来在海洋初级生产力观测研究的进展。随着我国资源与环境问题的日益突出 ,初级生产力研究越来越受到重视 ,研究海域也越来越广阔 ,研究的方法不断改进与完善。 2 0年来我国海洋初级生产力研究取得了很大成绩 ,基本搞清了我国海域的状况 ,为生态系结构与功能研究、为渔业资源的合理开发与可持续发展、为海洋环境质量的评价和赤潮的监测与预报等提供了重要科学基础。目前该项研究正在向更广和更深的层次发展 ,并且与特定的研究目标紧密联系 ,有些研究项目已与国际接轨。加强大空间尺度和长时间序列的观测研究及其与相关学科的综合研究 ,和采用现代化的观测手段 ,必将使该领域的研究提到一个更高的水平。     

Validation of ERS-1 and High-Resolution Satellite Gravity with in-situ Shipborne Gravity over the Indian Offshore Regions: Accuracies and Implications to Subsurface Modeling

Geoid and gravity anomalies derived from satellite altimetry are gradually gaining importance in marine geoscientific investigations. Keeping this in mind, we have validated ERS-1 (168 day repeat) altimeter data and very high-resolution free-air gravity data sets generated from Seasat, Geosat GM, ERS-1 and TOPEX/POSEIDON altimeters data with in-situ shipborne gravity data of both the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea regions for the purpose of determining the consistencies and deviations. The RMS errors between high resolution satellite and ship gravity data vary from 2.7 to 6.0 mGal, while with ERS-1 data base the errors are as high as 16.5 mGal. We also have generated high resolution satellite gravity maps of different regions over the Indian offshore, which eventually have become much more accurate in extracting finer geological structures like 85° E Ridge, Swatch of no ground, Bombay High in comparison with ERS-1satellite-derived gravity maps. Results from the signal processing related studies over two specific profiles in the eastern and western offshore also clearly show the advantage of high resolution satellite gravity compared to the ERS-1 derived gravity with reference to ship gravity data.     

Doubled CO2 impact on subarctic marine carbon cycle: a case study at Ocean Station P

Along with meteorological observations, complementary and systematic oceanographic observations of various physical, biological and chemical parameters have been made at Ocean Station P (OSP) (50°N, 145°W) since the early 1950s. These decadal time scale data have contributed to a better understanding of the physical, biological and chemical processes in the surface layer of the northeastern subarctic region of the Pacific Ocean. These data have demonstrated the importance of the North Pacific in the global carbon cycle and, in particular, the role of biological/chemical processes in the net exchange of CO₂ across the air–sea interface. Although we do not fully comprehend how climatic variations influence marine communities or marine biogeochemistry, previous studies have provided some basic understanding of the mechanisms controlling the seasonal and inter-annual variations of biological and chemical parameters (such as phytoplankton, bacteria, nitrate/ammonium concentration) at OSP, and how they affect the carbon cycling in the subarctic North Pacific. In this study, we investigate how these mechanisms might alter the seasonal variations of these parameters at OSP under a 2XCO₂ condition. We examine these influences using a new biological model calibrated by the climatological data from OSP. For the 2XCO₂ simulation, the biological model is driven off line (i.e., no feedback to the ocean/atmospheric model components) by the climatology plus 2XCO₂−1XCO₂ outputs from a global surface ocean model and the Canadian GCM. Under the 2XCO₂ condition, the upper layer ocean shows an increase in the entrainment rate at the bottom of the mixed layer for OSP during the late autumn and winter seasons, resulting in an increase in the f-ratio. Although there is an overall increase in the primary production (PP) by 3–18%, a decrease in the biomass of small phytoplankton and microzooplankton (due to mesozooplankton grazing) lowers the concentration of dissolved organic matter (DOM) by 4–25%. The model also predicts a significant increase in the concentrations of nitrate and ammonium, and in bacterial production during July and August. Doubling of the atmospheric CO₂ from 330 to 660 ppm forces the marine pCO₂ to increase by about 63%, much of which is driven by an increased flux of CO₂ from the atmosphere to the oceans.     

基于遥感的海表紫外辐射强度反演方法

Ultraviolet(UV) radiation has a significant influence on marine biological processes and primary productivity;however, the existing ocean color satellite sensors seldom contain UV bands. A look-up table of wavelengthintegrated UV irradiance(280–400 nm) on the sea surface is established using the coupled ocean atmosphere radiative transfer(COART) model. On the basis of the look-up table, the distributions of the UV irradiance at middle and low latitudes are inversed by using the satellite-derived atmospheric products from the Aqua satellite,including aerosol optical thickness at 550 nm, ozone content, liquid water path, and the total precipitable water.The validation results show that the mean relative difference of the 10 d rolling averaged UV irradiance between the satellite retrieval and field observations is 8.20% at the time of satellite passing and 13.95% for the daily dose of UV. The monthly-averaged UV irradiance and daily dose of UV retrieved by satellite data show a good correlation with the in situ data, with mean relative differences of 6.87% and 8.43%, respectively. The sensitivity analysis of satellite inputs is conducted. The liquid water path representing the condition of cloud has the highest effect on the retrieval of the UV irradiance, while ozone and aerosol have relatively lesser effect. The influence of the total precipitable water is not significant. On the basis of the satellite-derived UV irradiance on the sea surface, a preliminary simple estimation of ultraviolet radiation's effects on the global marine primary productivity is presented, and the results reveal that ultraviolet radiation has a non-negligible effect on the estimation of the marine primary productivity.     

An overview of developments and applications of oceanographic radar networks in Asia and Oceania countries

More than 110 radar stations are in operation at the present time in Asia and Oceania countries, which is nearly half of all the existing radar stations in the world, for purposes related to marine safety, oil spill response, tsunami warning, coastal zone management and understanding of ocean current dynamics, depending mainly on each country’s coastal sea characteristics. This paper introduces the oceanographic radar networks of Australia, China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan, presented at the 1st Ocean Radar Conference for Asia (ORCA) held in May 2012, Seoul, Korea, to share information about the radar network developments and operations, knowledge and experiences of data management, and research activity and application of the radar-derived data of neighbouring countries. We hope this overview paper may contribute as the first step to promotion of regional collaborations in the radar observations and data usages and applications in order to efficiently monitor the coastal and marginal sea waters along the western Pacific Ocean periphery.     

The Atlantic Meridional Transect: overview and synthesis of data

The Atlantic Meridional Transect programme uses the twice-annual passage of the RRS James Clark Ross between the UK and the Falkland Islands, before and after the Antarctic research programme in the Austral Summer (see Aiken, J., & Bale, A. J. (2000). An introduction to the Atlantic Meridional Transect (AMT) Programme. Progress in Oceanography, this issue). This paper examines the scientific rationale for a spatially-extensive time and space series programme and reviews the relevant physical and biological oceanography of the Atlantic Ocean. The main scientific observations from the research programme are reported. These are set in the context of historical and contemporary observations pertinent to the principal objectives of the cruise, notably the satellite remotely sensed observations of ocean properties. The extent to which the programme goals have been realised by the research to date is assessed and discussed. New bio-optical signatures, which can be related to productivity parameters, have been derived. These can be used to interpret remotely sensed observations of ocean colour in terms of productivity and production processes such as the air/sea exchange of biogenic gases, which relate to the issues of climate change and the sustainability of marine ecosystems.