Abstract
A detailed gravimetric geoid has been computed for the Nortwest Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea area in support of the calibration and evaluation of the GEOS-3 altimeter. This geoid, computed on a 15’ x 15’ grid was based upon a combination of surface gravity data and the GSFC GEM-8 gravitational field model. This gravimetric geoid has been compared with passes of SKYLAB altimeter data recorded in the Atlantic Ocean, and three typical passes are presented. The relative agreement of the two data types is quite good with differences generally less than 2 meters for these passes. Sea surface manifestations of numerous short wavelength (≈ 100 km) oceanographic features indicated in the altimeter data are also confirmed by the gravimetric geoid.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
C. BOWIN: Catalogue of Geoidal Variations for Simple Seafloor Topographic Features, Woods, Hole Oceanographic Inst. Report 75-14, Woods Hole, Mass., 1976
D.M.J. FUBARA, A.G. MOURAD: Results of Geodetic Processing and Analysis of SKYLAB Altimeter Data,Proc. of the Int. Symp. on Appl. of Marine Geodesy, pp. 301–314, Marine Tech. Soc., Wash., D.C., 1974.
J.G. MARSH, S. VINCENT: Global Detailed Geoid Computation and Model Analysis,Geophys. Surv., Vol. 1, pp. 481–511, 1974a.
J.G. MARSH, S. VINCENT: Detailed Gravimetric Geoid for the GEOS-C Altimeter Calibration Area,Proc. of the Int. Symp. on Appl. of Marine Geodesy, pp. 371–379, Marine Tech. Soc., Wash., D.C., 1974b.
J.T. McGOOGAN, L.S. MILLER, G.S. BROWN and G.S. HAYNE: The S-193 Radar Altimeter Experiment,Proc. of the IEE, Vol. 62, No. 6, June 1974a.
J.T. McGOOGAN, C.D. LEITAO, L.S. MILLER and W.T. WELLS: SKYLAB S-193 Altimeter Experiment Performance, Results and Applications,Proc. of the Int. Symp. on Appl. of Marine Geodesy, pp. 291–300, Marine Tech. Soc., Wash., D.C., 1974b.
J.T. McGOOGAN, C.D. LEITAO, W.T. WELLS, L.S. MILLER and G.S. BROWN: SKYLAB Altimeter Applications and Scientific Result,AIAA/AGU Conf. on Scientific Exp. of SKYLAB, Huntsville, Ala., 1974 c.
J.T. McGOOGAN, C.D. LEITAO, W.T. WELLS: Summary of SKYLAB S-193 Altimeter Altitude Results,NASA TM X-69355, Wallops Flt. Ctr., Wallops Isl., Va., 1975.
H. MORITZ: Report of Special Study Group No. 5.39 of IAG, Fundamental Geodetic Constants,Bull. Geod., No. 118, pp. 398–408, 1975.
R.H. RAPP, R. RUMMEL: Methods for the Computation of Detailed Geoids and their Accuracy,Rep. of the Dept. of Geod. Sci., No. 233, The Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH., 1975.
F.O. VONBUN, J.T. McGOOGAN, J.G. MARSH, F.J. LERCH: Sea Surface Determination from Space, The GSFC Geoid,Document X-900-75-216 NASA/Goddard Space Flt. Ctr., Greenbelt, Md. 1975.
F.O. VONBUN, J.G. MARSH, J.T. McGOOGAN, C.D. LEITAO, S.F. VINCENT, W.T. WELLS: SKYLAB Earth Resources Experiment Package (EREP), Sea Surface Topography Experiment,Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, Vol. 13, No 4, pp. 248–250, 1976.
C.A. WAGNER, F.J. LERCH, L.E. BROWN, J.A. RICHARDSON: Improvement in the Geopotential Derived from Satellite and Surface Data (GEM-7 and 8)Document X-921-76-20, NASA/Goddard Space Fit. Ctr. Greenbelt, Md., 1976.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Marsh, J.G., Chang, E.S. Detailed gravimetric geoid confirmation of sea surface topography detected by the skylab S-193 altimeter in the Atlantic Ocean. Bull. Geodesique 50, 291–299 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02521967
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02521967