The map above shows sea level deviations, relative to the 3-year mean (1993-95), derived from a combination of Topex, ERS2, and GFO altimeter data collected in near-real time. The data are averaged along 0.2-degree latitude segments of the ground track. Files are updated each evening to coincide with the NOAA NCEP experimental Coastal Ocean Forecast (COFS 3.4) model run. At that time the most recent data are 2 days old. The data are also used by NOAA's National Hurricane Center to aid in forecasting storm intensity. Maps of "hurricane heat potential" can be found at the NOAA/AOML web site.
Daily Topex, ERS2, andGFO files can be accessed by anonymous ftp.
Unlike the processing for NOAA's global Topex data , the combined Topex and ERS2 analysis is based on "short-arc" adjustments in order to highlight the mesoscale variability. A linear trend removed from each altimeter pass between 5S and 50N effectively eliminates all orbit error, but removes most of the seasonal signal as well.
