In situ validation of Jason-1 and Jason-2 altimetry missions in the Tropical Atlantic Ocean

Abstract

Nearly 20 years of altimetry data provide a new tool for studying low frequency variability in the ocean. However, in the tropics, where a few centimeters of uncertainty in sea level can result in large errors in velocity, accuracy is a problem. The ARAMIS program (Altimetrie sur un Rail Atlantique et Mesures in Situ) surveyed temperature and salinity structures in the tropical Atlantic Ocean. In this work, in situ measurements are compared to Jason-1 and -2 data from 2008 in order to check the reliability of inferring tropical Atlantic Ocean dynamics from both data sets, and to validate Jason-2