Global ocean current reconstruction from altimetric and microwave SST measurements

Ocean currents are a key component to understanding many oceanic and climatic phenomena and knowledge of them is crucial for both navigation and operational applications. Currently, they are derived from Sea Surface Height (SSH) measurements provided by altimeters. However, distances between tracks and the limited number of available altimeters lead to errors in the accurate location of oceanic currents. In this study, we investigate the capability of Sea Surface Temperature (SST) observations to reconstruct surface currents at a global scale. The methodology we use consists of estimating the stream function by taking the phase from SST and the spectrum of SSH and then comparing it with altimetric measurements. Results reveal that SST provided by microwave radiometers can be used to retrieve ocean currents during winter near the major extratropical current systems, which are characterized by an intense meso-scale activity and the presence of strong thermal gradients. We have also found that surface ocean current reconstruction based on Surface Quasi-Geostrophic approach can be improved if the information about the energy spectrum provided by altimeters is used. This points to the development of a new method of reconstructing ocean currents based on the combination of the phase of SST images with the energy spectrum derived from along-track altimetric measurements.