Measurement of ocean wave heights using the Geos 3 altimeter
- 20 October 1978
- journal article
- Published by American Geophysical Union (AGU) in Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans
- Vol. 83 (C10) , 5011-5018
- https://doi.org/10.1029/jc083ic10p05011
Abstract
Radar altimeter signals transmitted from the low‐orbiting satellite Geos 3 were analyzed for two selected orbits over high seas associated with hurricane ‘Caroline’ in the Gulf of Mexico and a North Atlantic storm. The measured values of significant wave height are in reasonable agreement with surface measurements, provided that the altimeter data are properly edited. The internal consistency of estimated wave heights for the North Atlantic storm, a standard deviation of 0.6 m or less, and the good agreement with surface truth lend credence to the method. A statistical analysis of the pulse slope variation gives estimated values of significant wave height within ±1 m of the true values 75% of the time for spatial averaging over 70 km.Keywords
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