Record Details
An apparent wave height dependence in the sea-state bias in Geosat altimeter range measurements
ScholarsArchive at Oregon State University
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Title | An apparent wave height dependence in the sea-state bias in Geosat altimeter range measurements |
| Names |
Witter, Donna L.
(creator) Chelton, Dudley B. (creator) |
| Date Issued | 1991-05-15 (iso8601) |
| Note | Copyrighted by American Geophysical Union. |
| Abstract | The sea-state bias in Geosat altimeter range measurements expressed as a percentage of significant wave height (SWH) is examined as a function of SWH. The bias is shown to be approximately a fixed -3.5% of SWH for SWH smaller than about 4 m. For larger SWH, the bias decreases in magnitude approximately linearly to a value of about -1.5% of SWH for 6 m SWH. Because of this "saturation effect" associated with large SWH, estimates of the Geosat sea-state bias which have been based on the assumption of a fixed percentage of SWH are too small by up to 1.5% of SWH. The saturation effect is so large at high latitudes in the southern hemisphere (where about 1/4 of the SWH values exceed 4 m) that it apparently overwhelms any wind speed dependence in the sea-state bias suggested by several recent studies. The apparent SWH dependence found in this study appears to be the result of attitude and sea-state errors in the Geosat altimeter on-board tracking algorithm. |
| Genre | Article |
| Identifier | Witter, D., and D. Chelton (1991), An Apparent Wave Height Dependence in the Sea‐State Bias in Geosat Altimeter Range Measurements, J. Geophys. Res., 96(C5), 8861-8867. |
