GULF-STREAM SURFACE TRANSPORT AND STATISTICS AT 69-DEGREES-W FROM THE GEOSAT ALTIMETER

Geosat altimeter height measurements for the Gulf Stream for three subtracks from the Exact Repeat Mission were processed to remove the geoid and mean Gulf Stream height. A Gaussian model for the Gulf Stream velocity profile was used to predict the form of the residual height profiles seen by Geosat and the mean height profile, using estimates of the width and position derived from the height residuals. Estimates of the maximum surface velocity and the surface transport were obtained by a least squares fit of the synthetic height profiles to the data. Location statistics from the Geosat data were in good agreement with values obtained from infrared images of the Gulf Stream. -from Authors