Oceanic Planetary Waves and Eddies: A Privileged View from Satellite Altimetry

摘要: The accurate, sustained observations of meso- and large-scale features in the global sea surface height fields from satellite altimeters, made possible by accuracy instruments flown since early 1990 s, have been extremely successful for improving our knowledge on characteristics ocean dynamics at these scales. Here we review some that success, including confirmation planetary (Rossby) waves are common ocean, albeit travelling faster than classic theory predicted, which has stimulated a profound revision theoretical framework, recent mesoscale eddies, account large percentage variance. We also summarize very intriguing questions altimetric opened remain yet unsolved. These include both purely dynamical questions, like existence waveguides energy propagation oceans or decomposition propagating into normal vertical modes, arising concurrent observation signals other data sets, SST (important ocean/atmosphere coupling) colour (which could indicate net effect carbon cycle). expect more surprises continuation further improvement observations, already nearly two decades long, their ever-growing integration with situ (especially ARGO) data.