Mapping mesoscale currents by optimal interpolation of satellite radiometer and altimeter data

Abstract

Mapping the mesoscale surface velocity stream function by combining estimates of surface height from satellite altimetry and surface currents from sequential infrared (sea-surface temperature) imagery using optimal interpolation is described. Surface currents are computed from infrared images by the method of maximum cross-correlations (MCC) and are combined with altimeter sea-level anomaly data from the TOPEX/Poseidon and ERS satellites. The analysis method was applied to 6 years of data from the East Australian Current region. The covariance of velocity and sea-level data is consistent with the statistical assumptions of homogeneous, isotropic turbulence, with typical length scales of order 220 km and time scales of 10 days in this region. Augmenting the analysis of altimeter data with MCC velocity observations improves the resolution of the surface currents, especially near the Australian coast, and demonstrates that the two data sources provide consistent and complementary observations of the surface mesoscale circulation. The volume of MCC data is comparable to that from a satellite altimeter, but with a more variable distribution of spatial and temporal resolution. In concert with altimetry, satellite radiometer velocimetry represents a technique useful for retrospective analysis of currents from high-resolution satellite radiometer data-sets.