Altimeter Signal-to-Noise for Deep Ocean Processes in Operational Systems

The ocean signal for this study is the sea surface height due to the slowly varying (greater than 5-day) ocean processes, which are predominantly the deep ocean mesoscale. These processes are the focus of present assimilation systems for monitoring and predicting ocean circulation due to ocean fronts and eddies and the associated environmental changes that impact real time activities in areas with depths greater than about 200 m. By this definition, signal-to-noise may be estimated directly from altimeter data sets through a crossover point analysis. The RMS variability in crossover differences is due to instrument noise, errors in environmental corrections to the satellite observation, and short time period oceanic variations. The signal-to-noise ratio indicates that shallow areas are typically not well observed due to the high frequency fluctuations. Many deep ocean areas also contain significant high frequency variability such as the subpolar latitudes, which have large atmospheric pressure systems moving through, and these in turn generate large errors in the inverse barometer correction. Understanding the spatial variations of signal to noise is a necessary prerequisite for correct assimilation of the data into operational systems.     

Evidence That Sea State Bias is Different for Ascending and Descending Tracks

Jason-1 and TOPEX/Poseidon (T/P) measured sea-surface heights (SSHs) are compared for five regions during the verification tandem phase. The five regions are of similar latitude and spatial extent and include the Gulf of Mexico, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, and locations in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans away from land. In all five regions, a bias, defined as Jason SSH—TOPEX-B SSH, exists that is different for ascending and descending tracks. For example, in the Gulf of Mexico the bias for ascending tracks was ?0.13 cm and the bias for descending tracks was 2.19 cm. In the Arabian Sea the bias for ascending tracks was ?2.45 cm and the bias for descending tracks was ?1.31 cm. The bias was found to depend on track orientation and significant wave height (SWH), indicating an error in the sea state bias (SSB) model for one or both altimeters. The bias in all five regions can be significantly reduced by calculating separate corrections for ascending and descending tracks in each region as a function of SWH. The correction is calculated by fitting a second-order polynomial to the bias as a function of SWH separately for ascending and descending tracks. An additional constraint is required to properly apply the correction, and we chose to minimize the sum of the TOPEX-B and Jason-1 root-mean-square (rms) crossover differences to be consistent with present SSB models. Application of this constraint shows that the correction, though consistent within each region, is different for each region and that each satellite contributes to the bias. One potential source that may account for a portion of the difference in bias is the leakage in the wave forms in TOPEX-B due to differing altitude rates for ascending and descending tracks. Global SSB models could be improved by separating the tracks into ascenders and descenders and calculating a separate SSB model for each track.     

One-Centimeter Orbit Determination for Jason-1: New GPS-Based Strategies

The U.S./French Jason-1 satellite is carrying a state-of-the-art GPS receiver to support precise orbit determination (POD) requirements. The performance of the Jason-1 “BlackJack” GPS receiver was strongly reflected in early POD results from the mission, enabling radial accuracies of 1–2 cm soon after the satellite's 2001 launch. We have made further advances in the GPS-based POD for Jason-1, most notably in describing the phase center variations of the on-board GPS antenna. We have also adopted new geopotential models from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE). The new strategies have enabled us to better exploit the unique contributions of the BlackJack GPS tracking data in the POD process. Results of both internal and external (e.g., laser ranging) comparisons indicate that orbit accuracies of 1 cm (radial RMS) are being achieved for Jason-1 using GPS data alone.     

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.     

Simultaneous Ocean Wave Measurements by the Jason and Topex Satellites,with Buoy and Model Comparisons Special Issue: Jason-1 Calibration/Validation

The verification phase of the Jason-1 satellite altimeter mission presents a unique opportunity for comparing near-simultaneous, independent satellite measurements. Here we examine simultaneous significant wave height measurements by the Jason-1 and TOPEX/Poseidon altimeters. These data are also compared with in situ measurements from deep-ocean buoys and with predicted wave heights from the Wave Watch III operational model. The rms difference between Jason and TOPEX wave heights is 28 cm, and this can be lowered by half through improved outlier editing and filtering of high-frequency noise. Noise is slightly larger in the Jason dataset, exceeding TOPEX by about 7 cm rms at frequencies above 0.05 Hz, which is the frequency at which the coherence between TOPEX and Jason measurements drops to zero. Jason wave heights are more prone to outliers, especially during periods of moderate to high backscatter. Buoy comparisons confirm previous reports that TOPEX wave heights are roughly 5% smaller than buoy measurements for waves between 2 and 5 m; Jason heights in general are 3% smaller than TOPEX. Spurious dips in the TOPEX density function for 3- and 6-m waves, a problem that has existed since the beginning of the mission, can be solved by waveform retracking.     

Near-Real–Time GPS-Based Orbit Determination and Sea Surface Height Observations from the Jason-1 Mission Special Issue: Jason-1 Calibration/Validation

The Jason-1 Operational Sensor Data Record (OSDR) is intended as a wind and wave product that is aimed towards near-real–time (NRT) meteorological applications. However, the OSDR provides most of the information that is required to determine altimetric sea surface heights in NRT. The exceptions include a sufficiently accurate orbit altitude, and pressure fields to determine the dry troposphere path delay correction. An orbit altitude field is provided on the OSDR but has accuracies that range between 8–25 cm (RMS). However, tracking data from the on-board BlackJack GPS receiver are available with sufficiently short latency for use in the computation of NRT GPS-based orbit solutions. The orbit altitudes from these NRT orbit solutions have typical accuracies of < 3.0 cm (RMS) with a latency of 1–3 h, and < 2.5 cm (RMS) with a latency of 3–5 h. Meanwhile, forecast global pressure fields from the National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) are available for the NRT computation of the dry troposphere correction. In combination, the Jason-1 OSDR, the NRT GPS-based orbit solutions, and the NCEP pressure fields can be used to compute sea surface height observations from the Jason-1 mission with typical latencies of 3–5 h, and have differences with those from the 2–3 day latency Interim Geophysical Data Records of < 5 cm (RMS). The NRT altimetric sea surface height observations are potentially of benefit to forecasting, tactical oceanography, and natural hazard monitoring.     

Jason-1: Assessment of the System Performances Special Issue: Jason-1 Calibration/Validation

On 7 December 2001, Jason-1 was successfully launched by a Boeing Delta II rocket from the Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The Jason-1 satellite will maintain the high accuracy altimeter service provided since 1992 by TOPEX/Poseidon (T/P), ensuring the continuity in observing and monitoring the Ocean Dynamics (intraseasonal to interannual changes, mean sea level, tides, etc.). Despite one-fourth the mass and power, the Jason-1 system has been designed to have basically the same performance as T/P, measuring sea surface topography at a centimetric level. This new CNES/NASA mission also provides near real-time data for sea state and ocean forecast. The first two months of the Jason-1 mission have been dedicated to the assessment of the overall system. The goals of this assessment phase were: 1. To assess the behavior of the spacecraft at the platform and payload levels (Jason-1 being the first program to call on the PROTEUS versatile multimission platform for Low and Medium Earth Orbit Missions developed in partnership between Alcatel Space and CNES); 2. To verify that platform performance requirements are met with respect to Jason-1 requirements; 3. To verify that payload instruments performance requirements evaluated at instrument level are met; 4. To assess the performance of the Jason-1 Ground System. This article will display the main outputs of the assessment of the system. It will demonstrate that all the elements of the onboard and ground systems are within the specifications. Provision of data to the Jason-1 Science Working Team started at the end of March 2002. This is the goal of a six-month phase after closure of the initial assessment phase to derive the error budget of the system in terms of altimetry user products.     

Guest editorial

The Jason-1 satellite was launched on 7 December 2001 with the primary objective of continuing the high accuracy time series of altimeter measurements that began with the TOPEX/Poseidon mission in 1992. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to validate the performance of the Jason-1 measurement system, and to verify that its error budget is at least at the same level as that of the TOPEX/Poseidon mission. The article reviews the main components of the Jason-1 altimetric error budget from instrument characterization to the geophysical use of the data. Using the Interim Geophysical Data Records (16DR) that were distributed to the Jason-1 Science Working Team during the verification phase of the mission, it is shown that the Jason-1 mission is performing well enough to continue studies of the large-scale features of the ocean, and especially to continue time series of mean sea-level variations with an accuracy comparable to TOPEX/Poseidon.     

基于T/P 和Jason-1 高度计数据的渤黄东海潮汐信息提取

对19 a 的TOPEX/POSEIDON(以下称T/P)和Jason-1 卫星高度计测高数据进行调和分析, 得到渤黄东海海域的8 个主要分潮(M2、S2、N2、K2、K1、O1、P1 和Q1)。提出一种将两类卫星高度计数据统一的方法, 消除了因两类卫星高度计校正算法等不同所导致的相互之间的偏差。变轨后的T/P与Jason-1 卫星加密了高度计对潮汐观测的空间分布。通过对交叉点处升轨与降轨的潮汐调和分析结果进行比较, 检验调和分析方法及高度计数据的可靠性; 将基于高度计数据的调和分析结果与验潮站资料进行比较, 以检验其正确性。4 个主要分潮(M2、S2、K1、O1)振幅之差的均方根介于1.0~1.8 cm, 迟角之差的均方根介于4.1°~7.8°。与已有研究结果相比, 调和分析结果的精确性有所提高。在此基础上, 综合变轨前后两类高度计测高数据的调和分析结果, 给出并分析了渤黄东海4 个主要分潮的同潮图。     

Sea level changes at Ascension Island in the last half century

An exercise in ‘data archaeology’ at Ascension Island has provided an estimate of sea level change between 1955 and 2001.5 (the mid-point of a recent dataset spanning 1993–2009). That average trend of 0.93 mm y^?1 (SE 0.69) compares to a larger rate during 1993–2009 itself of 2.55 (SE 0.13) and 2.07 (SE 0.30) mm y^?1 from tide gauge and altimeter data respectively, suggesting a recent acceleration in sea level rise. An ocean model and steric height datasets have been used for comparison to the measurements, with the conclusion that the acceleration was probably at least partly due to a steric height increase. This exercise is based on only one month of historical tide gauge data and is admittedly on the useful limit for long-term sea level studies. In addition, it is unfortunate that the tide gauge benchmark installed in 1955 has disappeared, even if one can estimate its height relative to modern marks. Nevertheless, the study does provide information of interest to climate studies, enables limits to be inferred on the real changes, and provides background information for other coastal studies. Most importantly, it is intended as a demonstration of the value of similar exercises where short historical records exist.