ALBERT

Description: The investigation's main goals are to produce accurate tidal maps of the main diurnal, semidiurnal, and long-period tidal components in the world's deep oceans. This will be done by the application of statistical estimation techniques to long time series of altimeter data provided by the TOPEX/POSEIDON mission, with additional information provided by satellite tracking data. In the prelaunch phase, we will use in our simulations and preliminary work data supplied by previous oceanographic missions, such as Seasat and Geosat. These results will be of scientific interest in themselves. The investigation will also be concerned with the estimation of new values, and their uncertainties, for tidal currents and for the physical parameters appearing in the Laplace tidal equations, such as bottom friction coefficients and eddy viscosity coefficients. This will be done by incorporating the altimetry-derived charts of vertical tides as boundary conditions in the integration of those equations. The methodology of the tidal representation will include the use of appropriate series expansions such as ocean-basin normal modes and spherical harmonics. The results of the investigation will be space-determined tidal models of coverage and accuracy superior to that of the present numerical models of the ocean tides, with the concomitant benefits to oceanography and associated disciplinary fields.

Description: An interpolation technique which allows accurate extrapolation of tidal height fields in the ocean basins by making use of selected satellite altimetry measurements and/or conventional gauge measurements was developed and tested. A normal mode solution for the Atlantic and Indian Oceans was obtained by means of a finite difference grid. Normal mode amplitude maps are presented.

Description: An estimation technique was developed to extrapolate tidal amplitudes and phases over entire ocean basins using existing gauge data and the altimetric measurements provided by satellite oceanography. The technique was previously tested. Some results obtained by using a 3 deg by 3 deg grid are presented. The functions used in the interpolation are the eigenfunctions of the velocity (Proudman functions) which are computed numerically from a knowledge of the basin's bottom topography, the horizontal plan form and the necessary boundary conditions. These functions are characteristic of the particular basin. The gravitational normal modes of the basin are computed as part of the investigation; they are used to obtain the theoretical forced solutions for the tidal constituents. The latter can provide the simulated data for the testing of the method and serve as a guide in choosing the most energetic functions for the interpolation.

Description: Using a simple dynamical model of a wind-driven ocean circulation of the Stommel type, and an analytical basis developed to objectively analyze the sea surface height residuals from an altimeter and, in the process, to determine the total flow instead of just the near surface geostrophic component associated with the given sea surface topography. The method is based on first deriving the solution to the forced problem for a given wind stress required to develop a hypothetical true or perfect data field and to establishing the basis for the objective analysis. The stream function and the surface height field for the forced problem are developed in terms of certain characteristic functions with the same expansion coefficients for both fields. These characteristic functions are simply the solutions for a homogeneous elliptic equation for the stream function and the solutions of an inhomogeneous balance equation for the height field. For the objective analysis, using a sample of randomly selected height values from the true data field, the height field characteristic functions are used to fit the given topography in a least squares sense. The resulting expansion coefficients then permit the synthesis of the total flow field via the stream function characteristic modes and the solution is perfectly well behaved even along the equator. The method of solution is easily adaptable to realistic ocean basis by straight forward numerical methods. The analytical basis of the theory and the results for an ideal rectangular basin on a beta plane are described.

Description: An objective analysis technique has been developed to extrapolate tidal amplitudes and phases over entire ocean basins using existing gauge data and the altimetric measurements which are now beginning to be provided by satellite oceanography. The technique was previously tested in the Lake Superior basin. The method has now been developed and applied in the Atlantic-Indian ocean basins using a 6 deg x 6 deg grid to test its essential features. The functions used in the interpolation are the eigenfunctions of the velocity potential (Proudman functions) which are computed numerically from a knowledge of the basin's bottom topography, the horizontal plan form and the necessary boundary conditions. These functions are characteristic of the particular basin. The gravitational normal modes of the basin are computed as part of the investigation, they are used to obtain the theoretical forced solutions for the tidal constituents, the latter provide the simulated data for the testing of the method and serve as a guide in choosing the most energetic modes for the objective analysis. The results of the objective analysis of the M2 and K1 tidal constituents indicate the possibility of recovering the tidal signal with a degree of accuracy well within the error bounds of present day satellite techniques.

Description: The numerical modeling of the normal modes of the global oceans is addressed. The results of such modeling could be expected to serve as a guide in the analysis of observations and measurements intended to detect these modes. The numerical computation of normal modes of the global oceans is a field in which several investigations have obtained results during the past 15 years. The results seem to be model-dependent to an unsatisfactory extent. Some modeling areas, such as higher resolution of the bathymetry, inclusion of self-attraction and loading, the role of the Arctic Ocean, and systematic testing by means of diagnostic models are addressed. The results show that the present state of the art is such that a final solution to the normal mode problem still lies in the future. The numerical experiments show where some of the difficulties are and give some insight as to how to proceed in the future.

Description: The techniques for computing the eigenfunctions of the velocity potential (Proudman functions) set out in Sanchez, et al. (1986) in relation to the Atlantic-Indian Oceans are here applied to the Pacific Ocean, using a 6x6 degree grid of 510 points (455 points for the associated stream functions). Normal modes are computed from the first Proudman functions and have natural periods from 43.9h downward. Tidal syntheses are derived from these modes by direct application of the (frictionless) dynamic equations and by least-squares fitting of Proudman functions to the dynamically interpolated tide-gauge data of Schwiderski (1983). The modes contributing the most energy to the principal harmonic tidal constituents are different in the two computations: their natural periods are typically in the range of 9 to 16h for semidiurnal, and 14 to 43h for diurnal tides. The rms of fit for the Proudman functions is, in all cases, better than the corresponding value for the same number of spherical harmonics.

Description: The tidal response of the ocean to long period forcing functions was investigated. The results indicate the possibility of excitation of a wobble component with the amplitude and frequency indicated by the data. An enhancement function for the equilibrium tide was postulated in the form of an expansion in zonal harmonics and the coefficients of such an expansion were estimated so as to obtain polar motion components of the required magnitude.

Description: An investigation was conducted to ascertain the response of the rotational motion of the earth to forcing functions produced by the water mass redistribution due to the ocean tides. In particular, the components of displacement of the rotation axis at the surface of the Earth were obtained. The investigation also addressed the larger question concerning the possibility of excitation of the Chandler wobble of the earth. In general, the results show the existence of a polar wobble as a response to each of the components of the ocean tides. The magnitude of the polar displacement depends on two factors: the amplitude of the tidal component and its period. The maximum periodic contributions are: the Doodson's component number 055.565 with a period of 18.613 years and 50 cm of polar displacement, the annual component 056.544 with 37 cm of polar displacement and the semi-annual 057.555 with 32 cm. The tidal components with daily and semi-daily periods yield very small polar displacements of the order of 0.01 cm. The combined effect of all the periodic components can yield as much as 90 cm of pole displacements. The changes produced by the ocean tides in the products of inertia are periodic and regular, therefore, they cannot be the source of excitation of the Chandler wobble.

Description: Remote sensing observations meet some limitations when used to study the bulk atmospheric composition of the giant planets of our solar system. A remarkable example of the superiority of in situ probe measurements is illustrated by the exploration of Jupiter, where key measurements such as the determination of the noble gases abundances and the precise measurement of the helium mixing ratio have only been made available through in situ measurements by the Galileo probe. This paper describes the main scientific goals to be addressed by the future in situ exploration of Saturn placing the Galileo probe exploration of Jupiter in a broader context and before the future probe exploration of the more remote ice giants. In situ exploration of Saturn's atmosphere addresses two broad themes that are discussed throughout this paper: first, the formation history of our solar system and second, the processes at play in planetary atmospheres. In this context, we detail the reasons why measurements of Saturn's bulk elemental and isotopic composition would place important constraints on the volatile reservoirs in the protosolar nebula. We also show that the in situ measurement of CO (or any other disequilibrium species that is depleted by reaction with water) in Saturn's upper troposphere may help constraining its bulk O/H ratio. We compare predictions of Jupiter and Saturn's bulk compositions from different formation scenarios, and highlight the key measurements required to distinguish competing theories to shed light on giant planet formation as a common process in planetary systems with potential applications to most extrasolar systems. In situ measurements of Saturn's stratospheric and tropospheric dynamics, chemistry and cloud-forming processes will provide access to phenomena unreachable to remote sensing studies. Different mission architectures are envisaged, which would benefit from strong international collaborations, all based on an entry probe that would descend through Saturn's stratosphere and troposphere under parachute down to a minimum of 10 bar of atmospheric pressure. We finally discuss the science payload required on a Saturn probe to match the measurement requirements.