From satellite altimetry to Argo and operational oceanography: three revolutions in oceanography

[摘要] The launch of the French/US mission Topex/Poseidon (T/P) (CNES/NASA) inAugust 1992 was the start of a revolution in oceanography. For the firsttime, a very precise altimeter system optimized for large-scale sea level andocean circulation observations was flying. T/P alone could not observe themesoscale circulation. In the 1990s, the ESA satellites ERS-1/2 were flyingsimultaneously with T/P. Together with my CLS colleagues, we demonstratedthat we could use T/P as a reference mission for ERS-1/2 and bring theERS-1/2 data to an accuracy level comparable to T/P. Near-real-timehigh-resolution global sea level anomaly maps were then derived. These mapshave been operationally produced as part of the SSALTO/DUACS system for thelast 15 yr. They are now widely used by the oceanographic community and havecontributed to a much better understanding and recognition of the role andimportance of mesoscale dynamics. Altimetry needs to be complemented withglobal in situ observations. At the end of the 90s, a major internationalinitiative was launched to develop Argo, the global array of profilingfloats. This has been an outstanding success. Argo floats now provide themost important in situ observations to monitor and understand the role of theocean on the earth climate and for operational oceanography. This is a secondrevolution in oceanography. The unique capability of satellite altimetry toobserve the global ocean in near-real-time at high resolution and thedevelopment of Argo were essential for the development of global operationaloceanography, the third revolution in oceanography. The Global Ocean DataAssimilation Experiment (GODAE) was instrumental in the development of therequired capabilities. This paper provides an historical perspective on thedevelopment of these three revolutions in oceanography which are very muchinterlinked. This is not an exhaustive review and I will mainly focus on thecontributions we made together with many colleagues and friends.

[学科分类] 海洋学与技术