Space-Borne Measurements of the Time-Dependent Geostrophic Ocean Flow Field
A method is presented that can provide high-resolution (in space and time) satellite measurements of theabsolute and time-varying surface geostrophic flow field. Based on the analysis of a high-resolution circulationmodel of the North Atlantic, it is demonstrated that a tandem satellite mission as anticipated from the French-U.S.Jason and Ocean Topography Experiment (TOPEX)/Poseidon missions flown along parallel tracks would besuitable to measure the velocity of the geostrophic surface flow field and its higher statistical moments, such askinetic energy and Reynolds stresses, with a space and time resolution similar to that obtained currently for seasurface height data from the TOPEX/Poseidon mission. The anticipated remote geostrophic velocity observationswould allow unprecedented studies of the ocean general circulation, including its mean and eddy energies,eddy-eddy, and eddy-mean flow interactions.