CoAuthors

Deirdre Byrne (Department of Environmental Affairs, Cape Town, South Africa, South Africa); Eric Leuliette (NOAA/NESDIS/STAR/Satellite Oceanography and Climatology Division, College Park, MD, USA); Paul DiGiacomo (NOAA/NESDIS/STAR/Satellite Oceanography and Climatology Division, College Park, MD, USA); Jessica Burns (Global Science and Technology, Inc. and NOAA/NESDIS/STAR/Satellite Oceanography and Climatology Division, USA)

A strong agreement exists between sea-level variability from alongtrack-gridded altimeter sea surface height (SSH) data and in situ pressure sensor–equipped inverted echo sounder (PIES) data. Variability in sea surface height (SSH) can be decomposed into a barotropic and baroclinic contributions: one from changes in mass in the water column (barotropic) and the other from purely steric changes (baroclinic) (Baker-Yeboah, Watts, and Byrne, 2010). These signals are combined when viewed in altimeter data. Using the strong correlation between altimeter and PIES data---based on previous PIES signals---along the eddy corridor where Agulhas rings pass, carrying cores of Indian Ocean water into the South Atlantic, an analysis is done using current altimeter data and VIIRS Ocean Color data to gain further insight into the physical and biological implications of mesoscale eddies associated with Agulhas rings off of South Africa. The sea surface variability along with the coastal signatures will be presented. Useful applications from the Surface and Water Ocean Topography mission will also be discussed.