A test of GEM T2 from GEOSAT crossovers using latitude lumped coefficients

Summary New Latitude Lumped Coefficients (LLC) of a geopotential model are defined as representing the principal differences of the radial distance to a satellite due to the model at single-orbit crossovers in an Exact Repeat Mission. In contrast with previously defined orbital lumped coefficients, the LLC here are dependent only on the geopotential order (without degree distinction) and the latitude. We examine discrepancies in altimetrically determined sea surface heights at over 30000 crossover positions of GEOSAT during its ERM, 1986–1989, after removal of many variable media and surface effects (Cheney et al., 1991) as well as initial condition orbit error. The mean of these discrepancies along well represented latitude bands in the southern hemisphere are used to determine the LLC errors for Goddard Earth Model T2, which was the reference for the GEOSAT sea surface heights. GEM T2 was derived from satelliteonly tracking data with good representation of the GEOSAT orbit. Relating the measured LLC discrepancies to projections of commission error from the GEM T2 variance-covariance matrix, we find that — except for order 3 — GEM T2's performance is as expected. This test represents the first spectral calibration of a gravity model with independent, purely radial orbit data.