Vertical Land Motion in the Mediterranean Sea from Altimetry and Tide Gauge Stations

We have computed estimates of the rate of vertical land motion in the Mediterranean Sea from differences of sea level heights measured by the TOPEX/Poseidon radar altimeter and by a set of tide gauge stations. The comparison of data at 16 tide gauges, using both hourly data from local datasets and monthly data from the PSMSL dataset, shows a general agreement, significant differences are found at only one location. Differences of near-simultaneous, monthly and deseasoned monthly sea level height time-series have been considered in order to reduce the error in the estimated linear-term. In a subset of 23 tide gauge stations the mean accuracy of the estimated vertical rates is 2.3 ± 0.8 mm/yr. Results for various stations are in agreement with estimates of vertical land motion from geodetic methods. A comparison with vertical motion estimated by GPS at four locations shows a mean difference of -0.04 ± 1.8 mm/yr, however the length of the GPS time-series and the number of locations are too small to draw general conclusions.     

以T/P卫星沿迹分析结果为开边界条件的边值解算

利用球坐标系中的二维潮波方程组,以T/P卫星沿迹分析结果为开边界条件的边值法,计算了黄海中的一个四边形区域.结果证明了此方法的可行性.同时在调试底摩擦系数时,发现其对本方法的影响甚小,说明本方法计算不同区域的潮汐数值模型时,底摩擦系数都可以取为0.0022,省去对底摩擦系数的调试过程.     

SARAL/AltiKa Global Statistical Assessment and Cross-Calibration with Jason-2

The CNES/ISRO mission SARAL/AltiKa was successfully launched on 25 February 2013. It reached its nominal orbit on 13 March 2013. AltiKa is the first altimeter using the Ka-band frequency. This article presents the results of the calibration and validation activities perfromed on the first year of the SARAL/AltiKa mission. The main objective of the article is to assess the SARAL/AltiKa data quality and to estimate the altimeter system performance using GDR products. To achieve this goal, we present mono-mission metrics and compare them with Jason-2 over the same period. Even if these missions do not have the same ground track, precise comparisons are still possible. They allow assessing parameter discrepancies and SSH consistency between both missions in order to detect geographically correlated biases, jumps or drifts. These results show that SARAL/AltiKa data quality is excellent: ocean data coverage is greater than 99.5%, standard deviation at cross-overs is 5.4 cm. The mission therefore fulfills the requirements of high precision altimetry and can be used (in conjunction with Jason-2) to monitor the global mean sea level, ensuring the continuity of the record over ERS/Envisat historical ground track. Possible improvements and open issues are also identified, foreseeing an even better mission performance.     

Assessing SARAL/AltiKa Data in the Coastal Zone: Comparisons with HF Radar Observations

We present an initial assessment of SARAL/AltiKa data in the coastal band. The study focuses on the Ibiza Channel where the north-south water exchanges play a key role in controlling the circulation variability in the western Mediterranean. In this area, the track 16 of SARAL/AltiKa intercepts the domain covered by a coastal high-frequency (HF) radar system, which provides surface currents with a range up to 60 km. We evaluate the performance of the SARAL/AltiKa Ssalto/Duacs delayed-time along-track products compared to the HF radar surface velocity fields. SARAL/AltiKa data are retrieved at a distance of only 7 km from the coast, putting in evidence the emerging capabilities of the new altimeter. The derived velocities resolved the general features of the seasonal mesoscale variability with reasonable agreement with HF radar fields (significant correlations of 0.54). However, some discrepancies appear, which might be caused by instrumental hardware radar errors, ageostrophic velocities as well as inaccurate corrections and editing in the altimeter data. Root mean square (rms) differences between the estimated SARAL/AltiKa and the HF radar velocities are about 13 cm/s. These results are consistent with recent studies in other parts of the ocean applying similar approaches to Topex/Poseidon and Jason-1 missions and using coastal altimeter corrections.     

Ku– and Ka-band Altimeter Data in the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea: Impact on the Observation of the Coastal Ocean Variability

The strong increase in altimeter measurement errors near land surfaces is a limiting factor for coastal applications. We analyze the performance of the new Ka-band SARAL/AltiKa (SRL) mission in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea. SRL sea surface height (SSH) measurements are compared with those from the Jason-2 Ku-band satellite mission. The results show a significant increase in both quantity and quality of SSH data available near coastlines when using SRL data. Available edited data are 95.1% of SRL compared with 88.6% for Jason-2. Closer than 10 km to the coastline, available SRL data are still about 60% and only about 31% for Jason-2. Comparisons of the altimeter sea level variations are made with available coastal tide gauge data. The differences obtained between altimeter and tide gauge SLA time series are reduced for SRL (3.3 cm in average) compared with Jason-2 (4.2 cm in average), especially closer than 30 km to the land. It results in higher correlations (by 30%) obtained with SRL data. The coastal circulation derived from altimetry using SRL data shows an offshore meandering, which is more stable in time and with larger velocities close to the coast than that derived from Jason-2 observations.     

日本海西南海域现场观测和卫星高度计获取的海面高度距平的比较研究

压力传感逆式回声仪(pressure-sensor-equipped inverted echo sounders,PIES)可以用来测量海底压力和声波从海底到海面的传播时间。海底压力和声波传播时间分别被用来估计水体质量变化(正压)和比容变化(斜压)对海面高度距平的贡献。对由PIES在日本海西南海域现场观测数据得到的海面高度距平(PIES SLA)与卫星高度计海面高度距平(Sat SLA)进行了比较研究。利用相关分析法,对PIES SLA和沿轨T/P卫星、沿轨ERS-2卫星测得的海面高度距平(TP SLA、ERS-2 SLA)进行了比较;对PIES SLA和AVISO网格化海面高度距平进行了比较,估计可能的误差来源,并分析PIES SLA正压部分和斜压部分对SLA的贡献。比较发现,PIES SLA和Sat SLA的相关系数较高,且均方根误差较小,并且对特定区域和特定站点产生误差可能的原因进行了进一步的探讨。通过研究,有以下结论:(1)相对于湾流和黑潮地区,这一区域正压部分对海面高度的贡献相对较大;(2)如果再考虑斜压变化对海面高度的贡献,PIES SLA和Sat SLA相关系数会有所提升;(3)在高能区PIES SLA和Sat SLA相关系数较高,符合得相对比较好。总的来说,在日本海地区,PIES SLA和Sat SLA相关系数较高,具有较高的一致性,能为我国海洋二号(HY-2)等卫星高度计的校验提供一种可靠的方式。该研究对于PIES的研发和设计以及对于PIES的布放位置的选择都有一定的借鉴意义。     

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.     

ICESAT/GLAS激光测高原理及其应用

本文介绍了ICESAT卫星的基本工作原理,对该卫星上的地学激光测高系统GLAS的测量原理和精度进行了分析,通过GLAS可获得冰原地形及其时变,同时也可对云及大气层的特征有更深入地了解。对GLAS的适用于冰原、冰面、陆地以及海面波形的算法进行了分析,简单介绍了对GLAS测高数据进行检核和校准,并对ICESAT数据在地学研究中的应用进行了探讨。     

近岸海域EnviSat卫星测高波形重定的Threshold优化算法

波形重定是改善近岸海域卫星测高数据精度的一种有效方法.分析了EnviSat雷达测高波形重定算法,并对Threshold算法进行了优化,开发了波形重定程序;以地中海为实验区,利用几种波形重定方法,对近岸海域的EnviSat测高波形进行重定,认为优化的Threshold算法是几种波形重定算法中最稳健的重定算法,适合于地中海近岸海域EnviSat测高波形的重定,对其他近岸海域的应用也有一定的参考意义.     

Ocean Tide Models Developed by Assimilating TOPEX/POSEIDON Altimeter Data into Hydrodynamical Model: A Global Model and a Regional Model around Japan

A global ocean tide model (NAO.99b model) representing major 16 constituents with a spatial resolution of 0.5° has been estimated by assimilating about 5 years of TOPEX/POSEIDON altimeter data into barotropic hydrodynamical model. The new solution is characterized by reduced errors in shallow waters compared to the other two models recently developed; CSR4.0 model (improved version of Eanes and Bettadpur, 1994) and GOT99.2b model (Ray, 1999), which are demonstrated in comparison with tide gauge data and collinear residual reduction test. This property mainly benefits from fine-scale along-track tidal analysis of TOPEX/POSEIDON data. A high-resolution (1/12°) regional ocean tide model around Japan (NAO.99Jb model) by assimilating both TOPEX/POSEIDON data and 219 coastal tide gauge data is also developed. A comparison with 80 independent coastal tide gauge data shows the better performance of NAO.99Jb model in the coastal region compared with the other global models. Tidal dissipation around Japan has been investigated for M₂ and K₁ constituents by using NAO.99Jb model. The result suggests that the tidal energy is mainly dissipated by bottom friction in localized area in shallow seas; the M₂ ocean tidal energy is mainly dissipated in the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea at the mean rate of 155 GW, while the K₁ energy is mainly dissipated in the Sea of Okhotsk at the mean rate of 89 GW. TOPEX/POSEIDON data, however, detects broadly distributed surface manifestation of M₂ internal tide, which observationally suggests that the tidal energy is also dissipated by the energy conversion into baroclinic tide.