SEAMOUNT TOPOGRAPHY BY LEAST-SQUARES INVERSION OF ALTIMETRIC GEOID HEIGHTS AND SHIP-BORNE PROFILES OF BATHYMETRY AND/OR GRAVITY-ANOMALIES

Altimetric measurements of sea-surface heights have long been used to locate uncharted marine features. Newly available data sets (Geosat-GM, ERS-1 and Topex/Poseidon), now allow the topography of submarine volcanoes to be accurately restored and a method based upon inverse modelling is presented in this paper. This method allows a joint assimilation of altimetric data and shipborne profiles of bathymetry and/or gravity anomalies when available. Furthermore, uncertainties can be computed together with the topography, which constitutes a noticeable improvement since these parameters are still missing in the usual bathymetric data bases. Tests are performed using simulated data, in order to characterize the errors which may or must occur with the modelled topography of a previously unknown volcano, in particular the errors due to data uncertainties and the lack of precise knowledge of sensitive parameters that are used in the modelling. These errors can be maintained under the 100 m level (rms) for altimetric data with a measurement noise of 5 cm (rms) or less, which is achieved for Geosat, ERS-1 and Topex/Poseidon altimeters. An example of inversion of Seasat data is presented in the case of a seamount in French Polynesia.