Combining altimetry and hydrography with inverse methods

Abstract

We describe a generalization of the Bernoulli inverse method, which produces an estimate of Sea Surface Height (SSH) across the region of interest rather than simply at station positions. Real-time ‘float’ observations and satellite altimetry measurements are used to map a ‘sea surface elevation’ to study the large-scale ocean circulation in the North Atlantic. The inverse has been applied to simulated Argo floats and satellite altimetry tracks in the Ocean Circulation and climate model (OCCAM). The Bernoulli inverse method predicts the SSH by finding geostrophic streamlines along which the Bernoulli function is conserved. These streamlines are defined where modified potential temperature and salinity are conserved. This predicted SSH is combined with that measured by the satellite altimetry. The revised method uses linear regression to give a surface solution for the region rather than solving the function at fixed positions, hence increasing the resolution of the problem by combining the altimetry measurements for the region. We will present results of a comparison study where real-time Argo and satellite altimetry have been used in combination with OCCAM using the same method to see how robust the solutions are for the NorthAtlantic.

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