THE IMPACT OF THE WET TROPOSPHERIC CORRECTION ON THE INTERPRETATION OF ALTIMETER-DERIVED OCEAN TOPOGRAPHY IN THE NORTHEAST PACIFIC

Atmospheric water vapor data derived from the special sensor microwave/imager (SSM/I) are used to make time-coincident, wet tropospheric range corrections to Geosat altimeter data in the northeast Pacific. The original and corrected sea surface height residuals along numerous tracks are examined to determine the impact of water vapor on the altimeter signal. Mesoscale feature analyses of corrected and uncorrected altimeter data are used to assess the impact of water vapor lengthening in areas of low sea surface height variability. -from Authors