| Volumes and Issues Contents of Issue 5 |
www.ocean-sci-discuss.net/3/1543/2006/
doi:10.5194/osd-3-1543-2006
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An oceanographer’s guide to GOCE and the geoid
Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory, 6 Brownlow St., Liverpool L3 5DA, UK
Abstract. A review is given of the geodetic concepts necessary for oceanographers to make use of satellite gravity data to define the geoid, and to interpret the resulting product. The geoid is defined, with particular attention to subtleties related to the representation of the permanent tide, and the way in which the geoid is represented in ocean models. The usual spherical harmonic description of the gravitational field is described, together with the concepts required to calculate a geoid from the spherical harmonic coefficients. A brief description is given of the measurement system in the GOCE satellite mission, scheduled for launch shortly, followed by a description of a reference ellipsoid with respect to which the geoid may be calculated. Finally, a recipe is given for calculation of the geoid relative to any chosen ellipsoid, given a set of spherical harmonic coefficients and defining constants.
Discussion Paper (PDF, 429 KB) Interactive Discussion (Closed, 10 Comments) Final Revised Paper (OS)
Citation: Hughes, C. W. and Bingham, R. J.: An oceanographer’s guide to GOCE and the geoid, Ocean Sci. Discuss., 3, 1543-1568, doi:10.5194/osd-3-1543-2006, 2006. Bibtex EndNote Reference Manager XML
