Ocean and earth dynamics study by TOPEX/POSEIDON altimeter

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Micro-wave radar altimeters on board satellites can measure the sea surface hight globally with accuracy of a few centimeters, and are considered to be very useful for studies of dynamics both of the oceans and solid earth. In the present study, cooperative works between physical oceanographers and solid earth geophysicists have been intended. The program sent the Principal Investigator and nine Co-Investigators to TOPEX/POSEIDON Science Working Team meetings held in England in 1996 and in France in 1997, in order to exchange information about international satellite altimetry studies. Scientific meetings were held in Tokyo in 1996 and 1997, in order to discuss about altimetry data processing and analyzes. For those meetings, four scientists of Australia, the United States and France were invited in order to stimulate international cooperation. Through those activities, following results have been obtained : (1) A long time series of transport of the Kuroshio south of Japan was obtained by combined use of satellite altimetry data with in situ oceanographic data ; (2) Features of surface circulations of the whole North Pacific were also revealed through combined use of altimetry data with in situ oceanographic data ; (3) The scheme has been developed to assimilate the altimetrly data to numerical models of the oceans ; (4) A precise global tide model was obtained from altimetry data ; (5) A high-resolution global map of gravity anomaly was obtained through the release of altimetry data during the GEOSAT Geodetic Mission, which has been unclassified recently ; and (6) A high-precision geoid map was obtained for the seas around Japan by combined use of altimetry data with in situ gravity anomaly data.