Velocity Mapping Capabilities of Present and Future Altimeter Missions: The Role of High-Frequency Signals

Abstract

Abstract A detailed analysis of the velocity field mapping capabilities from existing and future multiple altimeter missions is carried out using the Los Alamos North Atlantic high-resolution model. The velocity mapping errors on the instantaneous fields and on 10-day averaged fields are systematically computed for all analyzed configurations. The T/P+ERS (Jason-1+ENVISAT) mapping error on the velocity remains acceptable (20%–30%) relative to the ocean signal. Mapping errors of 10-day averaged fields are twice as small, which shows that this configuration has a good potential for mapping lower frequencies of the velocity field. Compared to T/P+ERS, T/P+Jason-1 has a smaller error by about 20%–30% mainly because it is less sensitive to the aliasing of high-frequency signals. The mapping errors are twice as small with a three interleaved Jason-1 configuration. One of the main findings of this study is the role of high-frequency signals that strongly limit the velocity mapping accuracy. The high-wavenumber h...