Publication Date:
2019-07-12
Description:
Four data sets used to correct satellite altimetry for the effects of tropospheric water vapor over the tropical Pacific Ocean are evaluated statistically, with a focus on the period 1979-1983. Satellite altimeter measurements are simulated by degrading model sea-level solutions with selected water-vapor data, and seasonal and interannual variations are investigated. The results are presented in extensive contour maps and characterized in detail. The standard deviation between two satellite-based data sets (Nimbus-7 SMMR and TOVS) was found to be 2-4 cm, while both the rms difference between seasonal cycles of the two sets and the difference between the mean fields were 1-2 cm. Larger differences (4-8 cm) were found between these data sets and those based on operational analyses (ECMWF and Fleet Numerical Oceanography Center). The maximum interannual anomaly in the water-vapor correction was 12 cm, for the eastern Pacific at the peak of the 1982-1983 ENSO event.
Keywords:
METEOROLOGY AND CLIMATOLOGY
Type:
Journal of Geophysical Research (ISSN 0148-0227); 95; 2899-292
Format:
text
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