Global ocean surface geostrophic currents estimated from satellite altimetry,GRACE and GOCE

Feng Guiping; Jin Shuanggen; Jose M. Sanchez Reales

doi:10.3969.issn.0253-4193.2014.09.006

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Feng Guiping, Jin Shuanggen, Jose M. Sanchez Reales. Global ocean surface geostrophic currents estimated from satellite altimetry,GRACE and GOCE[J]. Haiyang Xuebao, 2014, 36(9): 45-55. doi: 10.3969.issn.0253-4193.2014.09.006

Citation:

Feng Guiping, Jin Shuanggen, Jose M. Sanchez Reales. Global ocean surface geostrophic currents estimated from satellite altimetry,GRACE and GOCE[J]. Haiyang Xuebao, 2014, 36(9): 45-55. doi: 10.3969.issn.0253-4193.2014.09.006

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Global ocean surface geostrophic currents estimated from satellite altimetry,GRACE and GOCE

doi: 10.3969.issn.0253-4193.2014.09.006

1.
College of Marine Sciences, Shanghai University, Shanghai 201306, China;Shanghai Astronomical Observatory,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Shanghai 200030,China
2.
Shanghai Astronomical Observatory,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Shanghai 200030,China
3.
University of Alicante,Alicante,Spain

Received Date: 2012-12-04
Rev Recd Date: 2014-04-29

Abstract

Abstract

The satellite gravity mission GRACE (gravity recovery and climate experiment) has greatly improved the accuracy and resolution of the gravity field model of the earth,particularly in long-wave components. It can determine the characteristics of large scale global ocean surface currents combining satellite altimetry. In addition,the new generation GOCE (gravity field and steady-state ocean circulation explorer) mission was successfully launched in 2009 using gravity gradient measurements,which is very sensitive to the high-frequency part of the gravity field. Therefore,the GOCE is capable to determine the ocean surface currents with high spatial resolution. In this paper,the global surface geostrophic currents are determined from three models: (1)the gravity field model derived from 1 to 7 years of GRACE observations;(2)the gravity field model GO_CONS_GCF_2_TIM_R3 derived from one and half years of GOCE observations; (3) the mean sea surface topography model MSS_CNES_CLS_11 derived from satellite altimetry. It has shown that the gravity field model based on GOCE satellite gravity observations has a higher spatial resolution and can reflect more details and characteristics of the surface geostrophic currents with high accuracy and spatial resolution,e.g.,the medium and small-scale Mexico Gulf currents. Furthermore,the predictions are consistent with the in-situ drifters buoy data. However,the gravity model from 1 to 4 years of GRACE observations cannot predict global geostrophic currents accurately,and even the model from 7 years of GRACE observations is still less accurate than that from the one and half years of GOCE observations; the former one cannot reveal the details of current at the medium and small scales and has larger noises.
- geostrophic currents,
- GOCE,
- GRACE,
- satellite altimetry

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