EFFECT OF ORBIT ERROR ON DETERMINING SEA-SURFACE VARIABILITY USING SATELLITE ALTIMETRY

Satellite altimetry data provided by GEOS 3, Seasat and currently Geosat have been successfully used to measure sea surface variability. The determination of the ocean variability has been accomplished through either examination of differences along collinear tracks or differences at points where tracks cross. In either case it is first necessary to remove the relatively large long-wavelength error that exists in the sea surface heights due to inaccuracies in the estimation of the satellite altitude from ground based tracking data. The intent of this study is to quantify the effectiveness of using a linear model of altitude error when attempting to estimate sea surface variability. Gravity model errors are the primary source of altitude errors with wavelengths shorter than once per revolution. -from Authors