CoAuthors

Gary Geller (Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, United States); Adeline Gicquel-Brodtke (Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, United States)

The 27 years of ocean altimetry measurements from the TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason mission series satellites has provided researchers and operational users an unprecedented time series of data. This continuous record is the result of an enduring partnership between NASA, CNES, and others organizations and it continues to support operational, commercial, and environmental applications. With the launch of Jason-CS/Sentinel-6 in 2020, and more planned missions into the next decade, this resource of valuable data will be used by researchers and operational users across the globe to monitor ocean circulation and to improve our understanding of the role of the ocean in climate and weather.
The Altimetry Applications Program, which focuses on the NASA-CNES missions, engages existing ocean altimetry data users but also provides information to potential users by highlighting the how the observations from these missions can be applied.
Altimetry data has proved valuable for many practical applications including;
• International ocean forecasting systems,
• Ship routing and sport sailing,
• Precision marine operations: cable-laying, oil production, shipping
• Naval operations,
• Fisheries management,
• Marine mammal habitat monitoring,
• Hurricane forecasting and tracking,
• Debris tracking
• Storm surge forecasting

These applications will be the focus of efforts to provide data and information products to existing and new users, and to highlight how valuable this time series of data is for societal benefit.