Zhijin Li (JPL, USA); Lee-Lueng Fu (JPL, USA)

We present a new method to optimize mapping of along-track measurements of sea surface height (SSH) from multiple satellites onto a regular space-time grid. Motivated by the upcoming SWOT Cal/Val in the California Current system, our goal has been to investigate how much of the fine-scale ocean variability resolved by along-track observations can be retained in the interpolated 2D maps, while avoiding spurious off-track variance. To objectively map the SSH, we apply a variational interpolation technique, optimize the correlation scales for the region, and incorporate a new 'representation error' term in the observational error covariance matrix. Initial results indicate a significant improvement over AVISO in terms of the spatial and temporal resolution of the maps, which we validate with independent remote and in-situ datasets.