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Description

This dataset contains along track Sea Surface Height Anomalies (SSHA) for individual 10-day cycles from the TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason-1, OSTM/Jason-2, and Jason-3 missions geo-referenced to a mean reference orbit. Altimeter data from the multi-mission Geophysical Data Records (GDRs) have been interpolated to a common reference orbit with biases and cross-calibrations applied so that the derived SSHA are consistent between satellites to form a single homogeneous climate data record. Version 5.1 updates include the integration of Jason-3 GDR_F data, and the application of revised (GDR_F standard) internal tides and pole tide across missions. The data are in netCDF format and start in September 1992. Data extensions are appended to the file quarterly. More information on data processing standards can be found in the v5.1 User Handbook (Integrated Multi-Mission Ocean Altimeter Data for Climate Research TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason-1, 2, & 3 Users Handbook: https://archive.podaac.earthdata.nasa.gov/podaac-ops-cumulus-docs/merged_alt/open/L2/TP_J1_OSTM/docs/v100721.version5.1multialthandbook.pdf). This collection is the same data as https://doi.org/10.5067/ALTTS-TJA51 but with individual cycles saved in separate NetCDF files.

Product Summary

Platforms
OSTM/JASON-2 ,
JASON-1 ,
TOPEX/POSEIDON ,
JASON-3
Instruments
AMR ,
POSEIDON-3 ,
JASON-1 Microwave Radiometer ,
POSEIDON-2 ,
TMR ,
POSEIDON-3B
Projects
MEaSUREs
Spatial Extent

N: 66 S: -66 E: 180 W: -180

Location
GLOBAL
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
CARTESIAN
Temporal Extent
1992-09-25 to Present
Data Partner
Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA (NASA/JPL/PODAAC) ,
Earth Sciences Division, Science and Exploration Directorate, Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA (NASA/GSFC/SED/ESD)
Concept ID
C2204129664-POCLOUD
Data State
DEPRECATED
Number of Files/Granules
1086
Processing Level
2
Science Keywords
Sea Surface Height

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

Beckley, B., Zelensky, N. P., Holmes, S. A., Lemoine, F. G., Ray, R. D., Mitchum, G. T., Desai, S., & Brown, S. T. (2022). Integrated Multi-Mission Ocean Altimeter Data for Climate Research Version 5.1 [Dataset]. NASA Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center. https://doi.org/10.5067/ALTCY-TJA51 Date Accessed: 2026-10-27

Documents

USER'S GUIDE

GENERAL DOCUMENTATION

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Variables

The table below lists the variables contained within a single granule for this dataset. Variables often contain observed or derived geophysical measurements collected from a variety of sources, including remote sensing instruments on satellite and airborne platforms, field campaigns, in situ measurements, and model outputs. The terms variable, parameter, scientific data set, layer, and band have been used across NASA’s Earth science disciplines; however, variable is the designated nomenclature in NASA’s Common Metadata Repository (CMR). Variable metadata attributes such as Name, Description, Units, Data Type, Fill Value, Valid Range, and Scale Factor allow users to efficiently process and analyze the data. The full range of attributes may not be applicable to all variables. Additional information on variable attributes is typically available in the data, user guide, and/or other product documentation.

For questions on a specific variable, please use the Earthdata Forum.

Name Description Units Data Type Fill Value Valid Range Scale Factor Offset
Bathymetry Bathymetry m short 32767 N/A 1 N/A
Distance_to_coast Along Track Distance to Coast m int 2147483647 N/A 1 N/A
flag Flag value for representing different errors in the sea surface height anomaly estimates N/A short N/A 0 to 32767 1 N/A
index Specifies the index number of the lon/lat position of a 1Hz data point in a reference_orbit revolution N/A short N/A 1 to 6746 1 N/A
lat Positive latitude is North latitude, negative latitude is South latitude. FillValue pads the reference orbits to have same length degrees_north float -9999.9 -66.14912 to 66.14933 1 N/A
lon East longitude relative to Greenwich meridian. FillValue pads the reference orbits to have same length degrees_east float -9999.9 0.000596 to 359.9998 1 N/A
mssh Mean Sea Surface Height above Reference Ellipsoid mm int 2147483647 N/A 1 N/A
reference_orbit Specifies the number of the revolution within a near 10-day repeat orbit N/A short N/A 1 to 127 1 N/A
ssha Sea Surface Height Anomaly mm short 32767 -14978 to 19926 1 N/A
Surface_Type Surface Type N/A byte 9 N/A 1 N/A
time Conversion to Modified Julian Day + fraction of day (accurate to a second): MJD = time/86400.0 + 48622.0 seconds since 1992-01-01 00:00:00 int 2147483647 N/A 1 N/A
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