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2004 Images of the Month

Dec. 2004: Jason-1: third year in orbit!: Jason-1 celebrates its third year in orbit on December 7, 2004
Nov. 2004: A dual-frequency view of Antarctica: Altimeters that operate at two frequencies show the difference of penetration of radar waves inside the Antarctic snow-pack, which changes over time
Oct. 2004: Altimetry helps link bits and pieces of a current together: For years, three "currents" had been identified and named West and South of Australia. Altimetry helped in proving that those features were part of a unique current following the Australian coast.
Sep. 2004: Four satellites to watch over the Mediterranean: Three satellites at least are needed to observe eddies and mesoscale phenomenon in the Mediterranean.
Aug. 2004: Summer: wet monsoon season: Long-term studies of all ocean and atmosphere parameters, including those brought by altimetry satellites, should lead to improvement in forecasting models, and thus help to prevent the worst of the "abnormal" monsoons.
Jul. 2004: Leartherback turtles round eddies: Leatherback turtles are tracked by Argos. Overlaying their paths on altimetry sea surface heights, correlations can be tried between their behavior and ocean circulation.
Jun. 2004: Nida: altimetric view of a typhoon: Altimetry allows to measure wind speeds and wave heights in tropical cyclones, and also helps to identify regions where they may intensify.
May 2004: Ocean circulation with gravity: With altimetry satellites like Jason-1, Topex/Poseidon or Envisat, gravity field measurements take a special importance -- or more precisely, measurement of its effect on the ocean, a.k.a. the geoid
Apr. 2004: Eddy-steered current: Currents can be steered by gaps in the ocean ridges
Mar. 2004: Tuvalu islands under water: If mean sea level rise in not (yet?) high enough to submerge Tuvalu islands, they are regularly flooded during spring tides.
Feb. 2004: Rogue waves: They are mostly individual waves of exceptional height and/or abnormal shape which cannot be detected with altimetry, as it averages measurements over several square kilometers. But studies try to link the occurrence of such waves to some sea state properties.
Jan. 2004: Altimetry over land: Comparison of the backscatter coefficient for the two frequencies of altimeters provide us with information about the date of the first snows and the thickness of snow or vegetal cover in relation to the season.