Improved Surface Currents from Altimeter-Derived and Sea Surface Temperature Observations: Application to the North Atlantic Ocean

Created March 19, 2026

Updated on May 21, 2026

approved

We present a study on the ocean surface currents reconstruction by merging Level-4 (L4,gap-free) altimeter-derived geostrophic currents and satellite sea surface temperature. Building uponpast studies on the multi-variate reconstruction of geostrophic currents from satellite observations,we regionalized and optimized an algorithm to improve the altimeter-derived surface circulationestimates in the North Atlantic Ocean. A ten-year-long time series (2010–2019) is presented andvalidated by means of in situ observations. The newly optimized algorithm allowed us to improvethe currents estimate along the main axis of the Gulf Stream and in correspondence of well-known up-welling areas in the North Eastern Atlantic, with percentage improvements of around 15% comparedto standard operational altimetry products.

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Tags:
Geostrophic Currents
Publication - Article
Satellite Observations Synergy
Sea Surface Temperature
Basic
Language
English
MainTitle
Improved Surface Currents from Altimeter-Derived and Sea Surface Temperature Observations: Application to the North Atlantic Ocean
Original ids
https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16040640
Type
publication
bestAccessRight
OPEN
contributors
  • Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Scienze Marine (CNR-ISMAR), 00133 Rome, Italy;
  • Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Scienze Marine (CNR-ISMAR), 80133 Naples, Italy
countries
Italy
Creator/Author
Full name
  • Daniele Ciani, orcid: 0000-0002-8767-4379;
  • Sarah Asdar, orcid: 0009-0002-6251-4456;
  • Bruno Buongiorno Nardelli, orcid: 0000-0002-3416-7189
Other
Description
We present a study on the ocean surface currents reconstruction by merging Level-4 (L4, gap-free) altimeter-derived geostrophic currents and satellite sea surface temperature. Building upon past studies on the multi-variate reconstruction of geostrophic currents from satellite observations, we regionalized and optimized an algorithm to improve the altimeter-derived surface circulation estimates in the North Atlantic Ocean. A ten-year-long time series (2010–2019) is presented and validated by means of in situ observations. The newly optimized algorithm allowed us to improve the currents estimate along the main axis of the Gulf Stream and in correspondence of well-known upwelling areas in the North Eastern Atlantic, with percentage improvements of around 15% compared to standard operational altimetry products.
Publication Date
2024-02-08
Publisher
MDPI AG
Subjects
  • 0106 Biological sciences;
  • Sea surface temperature;
  • 13. Climate action;
  • Satellite observations synergy;
  • Science;
  • Geostrophic currents;
  • 14. Life underwater;
  • 01 Natural sciences;
  • 0105 Earth and related environmental sciences
isGreen
false
isInDiamondJournal
false
Software
Publication
Name
Remote Sensing
Publication
Article
Starting page
640
issnOnline
2072-4292
vol
16
Other Research Product
Detailed informations
system:type
Research Product
Management Info
Author
Catalogue Manager ITINERIS
Version
1
Last Updated
May 21, 2026, 08:42 (UTC)
Created
March 19, 2026, 00:30 (UTC)
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