Abstract
The problem of improving the geoid from satellite altimetry is formulated and studied within the scope of geophysical fluid dynamics. The oceanic levelling is defined by analogy to the astrogeodetic levelling and it is used to determine the sea surface topography as a function of current velocity, atmospheric pressure and viscosity. Simulating strong currents like the Gulf Stream or the Kuroshio the numerical treatment of the oceanic levelling shows that the sea surface topography can come up to an order of magnitude of1–2 m, whereby the results depend on latitude and slightly on the actual pressure conditions.
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Stöcker-Meier, E. Theory of oceanic levelling for improving the geoid from satellite altimetry. Bull. Geodesique 64, 247–258 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02519179
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02519179