Skip to main content

Description

The Gridded Altimeter Fields with Enhanced Coastal Coverage data product contains Sea Surface Height Anomalies (SSHA or SLA) and zonal and meridional geostrophic velocities for the US west coast encompassing 35.25 deg-48.5 deg N latitude and 227.75 deg-248.5 deg E longitude. This annually updated data product extends from October 14, 1992 through November 4, 2009. SSHA and current velocities are derived from the AVISO quarter degree DT UPD MSLA version 3.0 grids, 0.75 deg and greater away from the coast. Values within 0.75 deg of the coast are derived from tide gauge observations and interpolated out to the altimeter filled region. Details on how these data are derived can be found in: Saraceno, M., P. T. Strub, and P. M. Kosro (2008), Estimates of sea surface height and near-surface alongshore coastal currents from combinations of altimeters and tide gauges, J. Geophys. Res., 113, C11013, doi:10.1029/2008JC004756.

Product Summary

Platforms
OSTM/JASON-2 ,
TOPEX/POSEIDON ,
JASON-1
Instruments
POSEIDON-3 ,
SSALT ,
POSEIDON-2
Spatial Extent

N: 48.5 S: 35.25 E: 180 W: -111.5

,

N: 48.5 S: 35.25 E: -132.25 W: -180

Spatial Resolution
0.25 Decimal Degrees x 0.25 Decimal Degrees
Geographic Region
EASTERN PACIFIC OCEAN
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
CARTESIAN
Temporal Extent
1992-10-14 to 2012-04-18
Data Partner
Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA (NASA/JPL/PODAAC)
Concept ID
C2205120784-POCLOUD
Data State
COMPLETE
Number of Files/Granules
21
Processing Level
4
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Sea Surface Height ,
Ocean Currents

Citation

Citation is critically important for dataset documentation and discovery. This dataset is openly shared, without restriction, in accordance with the EOSDIS Data Use and Citation Guidance.

Copy Citation

OSU/COAS. (2010). Gridded Altimeter Fields with Enhanced Coastal Coverage [Data set]. NASA Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/USWCO-ALT01 Date Accessed: 2025-12-14

Documents

DATA CITATION GUIDELINES

Variables

Variables are a set of physical properties whose values determine the characteristics or behavior of something. For example, temperature and pressure are variables of the atmosphere. Parameters and variables can be used interchangeably. Variable level attributes provide individual information for each variable.

The Name in this table is the variable name. Fill value indicates missing or undefined data points in a variable. Valid range is the range of values the variable can store. Scale factor is used to increase or decrease the size of an object and can be used to correct for distortion. For questions on a specific variable, please use the Earthdata Forum.

Name Description Units Data Type Fill Value Valid Range Scale Factor
latitude latitude degrees_north float N/A N/A 1
longitude longitude degrees_east float N/A N/A 1
sea_surface_height_above_sea_level mean sea-level anomaly m float -9999 N/A 1
surface_geostrophic_eastward_sea_water_velocity surface zonal geostrophic velocity m s-1 float -9999 N/A 1
surface_geostrophic_northward_sea_water_velocity surface meridional geostrophic velocity m s-1 float -9999 N/A 1
time time days since 1970-01-01 float N/A N/A 1
You're viewing 6 of 6