Comparing Altimetry with Tide Gauges and Argo Profiling Floats for Data Quality Assessment and Mean Sea Level Studies

Altimeter missions have provided accurate measurements of sea surface height since 1992 not only with TOPEX/Poseidon but also with Jason-1, Envisat, and recently Jason-2. The overall quality assessment of altimeter data can be performed by analyzing their internal consistency and the cross-comparison between all missions. In this study, in situ measurements are used as an external, independent reference to enable further quality assessment of the altimeter sea level. The most up-to-date altimeter data are assessed and compared with those from tide gauges and Argo profiling floats. The first focus is on detection of global and regional drifts in altimeter sea surface height compared with in situ measurements. A second point is that the method can assess the impact of new altimeter standards (e.g., orbit solution, instrumental correction, retracking algorithm) thanks to in situ observations. Finally, the study shows how multiple and reliable altimeter products are used to detect potential anomalies in tide gauges. The results demonstrate the close link between these three steps of the method: while the detection of altimeter drifts using in situ measurements is corrected by computing new altimeter standards whose impact can then be estimated, the improved altimeter sea level time series are used as input for controlling the quality of in situ observations.

[1]  Gary T. Mitchum,et al.  Estimating Mean Sea Level Change from the TOPEX and Jason Altimeter Missions , 2010 .

[2]  P. L. Traon,et al.  A global comparison of Argo and satellite altimetry observations , 2010 .

[3]  I. Pujol,et al.  In Situ Validation of Jason-1 and Jason-2 Altimetry Missions in the Tropical Atlantic Ocean , 2011 .

[4]  F. Bretherton,et al.  A technique for objective analysis and design of oceanographic experiments applied to MODE-73* , 2002 .

[5]  Dean Roemmich,et al.  The 2004-2008 mean and annual cycle of temperature, salinity, and steric height in the global ocean from the Argo Program , 2009 .

[6]  Gilles Larnicol,et al.  What can we learn from Global Altimetry/Hydrography comparisons? , 2006 .

[7]  Jean-François Crétaux,et al.  Sea level changes from Topex‐Poseidon altimetry and tide gauges, and vertical crustal motions from DORIS , 1999 .

[8]  D. E. Cartwright,et al.  Corrected Tables of Tidal Harmonics , 1973 .

[9]  W. Peltier.  GLOBAL GLACIAL ISOSTASY AND THE SURFACE OF THE ICE-AGE EARTH: The ICE-5G (VM2) Model and GRACE , 2004 .

[10]  A. E. Gill,et al.  The theory of the seasonal variability in the ocean , 1973 .

[11]  John Gould,et al.  Argo: The Challenge of Continuing 10 Years of Progress [In: Special Issue on the Revolution of Global Ocean Forecasting - GODAE: 10 Years of Achievement] , 2009 .

[12]  Gary T. Mitchum,et al.  An Improved Calibration of Satellite Altimetric Heights Using Tide Gauge Sea Levels with Adjustment for Land Motion , 2000 .

[13]  W. Peltier.  Global glacial isostatic adjustment: palaeogeodetic and space‐geodetic tests of the ICE‐4G (VM2) model , 2002 .

[14]  P. Bonnefond,et al.  Absolute Calibration of Jason-1 and Jason-2 Altimeters in Corsica during the Formation Flight Phase , 2010 .

[15]  F. Bretherton,et al.  A technique for objective analysis and design of oceanographic experiments applied to MODE-73 , 1976 .

[16]  R. Nerem,et al.  Calibration of TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason Altimeter Data to Construct a Continuous Record of Mean Sea Level Change , 2004 .

[17]  Anny Cazenave,et al.  Regional and interannual variability in sea level over 2002–2009 based on satellite altimetry, Argo float data and GRACE ocean mass , 2010 .

[18]  Gilles Larnicol,et al.  On the Use of Satellite Altimeter Data in Argo Quality Control , 2009 .

[19]  R. Scharroo,et al.  Integrating Jason-2 into a Multiple-Altimeter Climate Data Record , 2010 .

[20]  Olivier Parvillers.  SERVICE HYDROGRAPHIQUE ET OCÉANOGRAPHIQUE DE LA MARINE , 2011 .

[21]  R. Nerem,et al.  Estimates of vertical crustal motion derived from differences of TOPEX/POSEIDON and tide gauge sea level measurements , 2002 .

[22]  X. D. D. Madron,et al.  Cascades in Mediterranean Submarine Grand Canyons , 2009 .

[23]  Tilo Schöne,et al.  IGS Tide Gauge Benchmark Monitoring Pilot Project (TIGA): scientific benefits , 2009 .

[24]  A. Cazenave,et al.  A new assessment of the error budget of global mean sea level rate estimated by satellite altimetry over 1993–2008 , 2009 .

[25]  P. Queffeulou.  Long-Term Validation of Wave Height Measurements from Altimeters , 2004 .

[26]  J. Willis,et al.  Assessing the globally averaged sea level budget on seasonal to interannual timescales , 2008 .

[27]  Shannon T. Brown,et al.  Assessment of the Jason-2 Extension to the TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason-1 Sea-Surface Height Time Series for Global Mean Sea Level Monitoring , 2010 .

[28]  J. Dorandeu,et al.  Effects of Global Mean Atmospheric Pressure Variations on Mean Sea Level Changes from TOPEX/Poseidon , 1999 .

[29]  Florent Lyard,et al.  Modeling the barotropic response of the global ocean to atmospheric wind and pressure forcing ‐ comparisons with observations , 2003 .

[30]  A. Cazenave,et al.  Two-dimensional reconstruction of the Mediterranean sea level over 1970-2006 from tide gage data and regional ocean circulation model outputs , 2011 .

[31]  M. Ablain,et al.  Detection of Long-Term Instabilities on Altimeter Backscatter Coefficient Thanks to Wind Speed Data Comparisons from Altimeters and Models , 2012 .

[32]  P. Exertier,et al.  Absolute Calibration of Jason-1 and TOPEX/Poseidon Altimeters in Corsica Special Issue: Jason-1 Calibration/Validation , 2003 .

[33]  Egyéb.  The Sea Level , 1941, Science.

[34]  Gary T. Mitchum,et al.  Monitoring the Stability of Satellite Altimeters with Tide Gauges , 1998 .

[35]  A. Pascual,et al.  Coastal and mesoscale dynamics characterization using altimetry and gliders: A case study in the Balearic Sea , 2010 .

[36]  M. Bouin,et al.  Land motion estimates from GPS at tide gauges: a geophysical evaluation , 2010 .