Satellite techniques for determining the geopotential of sea surface elevations

Spaceborne altimetry with measurement accuracies of a few centimeters which has the potential to determine sea surface elevations necessary to compute accurate three-dimensional geostrophic currents from traditional hydrographic observation is discussed. The limitation in this approach is the uncertainties in knowledge of the global and ocean geopotentials which produce satellite and height uncertainties about an order of magnitude larger than the goal of about 10 cm. The quantitative effects of geopotential uncertainties on processing altimetry data are described. Potential near term improvements, not requiring additional spacecraft, are discussed. Even though there is substantial improvements at the longer wavelengths, the oceanographic goal will be achieved. The geopotential research mission (GRM) is described which should produce geopotential models that are capable of defining the ocean geoid to 10 cm and near-earth satellite position. The state of the art and the potential of spaceborne gravimetry is described as an alternative approach to improve our knowledge of the geopotential.