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Marine Biology

Series

2009

Currents

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Mean Dynamic Topography Of The Ocean Derived From Satellite And Drifting Buoy Data Using Three Different Techniques, Nikolai Maximenko, Peter Niiler, Marie-Helene Rio, Oleg Melnichenko, Luca Centurioni, Boris Galperin, Don. P. Chambers, Victor Zlotnicki Sep 2009

Mean Dynamic Topography Of The Ocean Derived From Satellite And Drifting Buoy Data Using Three Different Techniques, Nikolai Maximenko, Peter Niiler, Marie-Helene Rio, Oleg Melnichenko, Luca Centurioni, Boris Galperin, Don. P. Chambers, Victor Zlotnicki

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Presented here are three mean dynamic topography maps derived with different methodologies. The first method combines sea level observed by the high-accuracy satellite radar altimetry with the geoid model of the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), which has recently measured the earth’s gravity with unprecedented spatial resolution and accuracy. The second one synthesizes near-surface velocities from a network of ocean drifters, hydrographic profiles, and ocean winds sorted according to the horizontal scales. In the third method, these global datasets are used in the context of the ocean surface momentum balance. The second and third methods are used to improve …


The Surface Circulation Of The Caribbean Sea And The Gulf Of Mexico As Inferred From Satellite Altimetry, Aida Alvera-Azcarate, Alexander Barth, Robert H. Weisberg Mar 2009

The Surface Circulation Of The Caribbean Sea And The Gulf Of Mexico As Inferred From Satellite Altimetry, Aida Alvera-Azcarate, Alexander Barth, Robert H. Weisberg

Marine Science Faculty Publications

The surface circulation of the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico is studied using 13 years of satellite altimetry data. Variability in the Caribbean Sea is evident over several time scales. At the annual scale, sea surface height (SSH) varies mainly by a seasonal steric effect. Interannually, a longer cycle affects the SSH slope across the current and hence the intensity of the Caribbean Current. This cycle is found to be related to changes in the wind intensity, the wind stress curl, and El Niño–Southern Oscillation. At shorter time scales, eddies and meanders are observed in the Caribbean Current, and …