Home / News / Images of the Month / 2002

2002 Images of the Month

Dec. 2002: Ocean ridges: We can determine the Earth's gravity field using altimetry measurements.
Nov. 2002: El Niño under close scrutinies: Several eyes are fixed on El Niño phenomenon : satellites and in-situ observation instruments are deployed to follow its every "move".
Oct. 2002: Summer current, winter current: Like the winds and rain, ocean currents also change with season, flowing eastward in summer from the western Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal, and westward in winter. Altimetry satellites able us to study these currents and their variations; used in coupled ocean-atmosphere forecasting models, their data could help estimate the next monsoon.
Sep. 2002: Adding an in-depth view to altimetry: Complementarity of altimetric satellites and in-situ data is one of the keys for a three-dimension modeling of the ocean, and for its forecasting.
Aug. 2002: Gas in water: One of the major unknowns in modeling climate variations is the estimated CO2 content in the atmosphere and absorption of CO2 by the ocean. Here again, satellite altimetry can help.
Jul. 2002: Doris measures plate motion: Doris ground beacons located on the main tectonic plates measure motion and velocities, which range from a few millimeters to 15 centimeters a year.
Jun. 2002: Undersea mountains slow down Earth rotation: Altimetric measurements give clues to quantify the slowing down Earth rotation, both with tidal amplitude and undersea reliefs computation.
May 2002: "Planetary Waves": small amplitudes, large effects: These are either Rossby waves, which go from East to West or Kelvin waves which move in the opposite direction. They intensify currents such as the Gulf Stream or the Kuroshio.
Apr. 2002: Resolution is the key: Merged altimetric satellites improve spatial and temporal resolution of satellite data.
Mar. 2002: A Mediterranean tour: This month, Aviso is bringing you several images in one with a guided tour of some of the oceanographic "curiosities" of the Mediterranean Sea.
Feb. 2002: Well-calibrated measurements: Calibration is a key phase in the early stages of a satellite's life : The satellite-to-surface range, associated corrections, the satellite's orbit, wind speed, and wave heights will thus be verified.
Jan. 2002: From Poseidon-1 to Poseidon-2: Poseidon-2 improvements : a second frequency (in the C-band) for ionosphere corrections, a better sampling, and digital components have replaced analog circuits wherever possible.