Mean Sea Surface Model over the Sea of Japan Determined from Multi-Satellite Altimeter Data and Tide Gauge Records

Abstract

Mean sea surface (MSS) is an important datum for the study of sea-level changes and charting data, and its accuracy in coastal waters has always been the focus of marine geophysics and oceanography. A new MSS model with a grid of 1′ × 1′ over the Sea of Japan and its adjacent ocean (named SJAO2020) (25° N~50° N, 125° E~150° E) was established. It ingested 12 different satellites altimeter data (including TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason-1/2/3, ERS-1/2, Envisat, GFO, HaiYang-2A, SRL/Altika, Sentinel-3A, Cryosat-2) and 24 tide gauge stations’ records and joint GNSS data. The latter were used to correct the sea surface height within 10 km from the coastline by using the Gaussian inverse distance weighting method in SJAO2020. The differences among SJAO2020, CLS15, and DTU18, as well as the differences between them and the altimeter data of HY-2A, Jason-3, and Sentinel-3A were introduced. By comparing with tide gauge records, satellite altimeter data, and other models (DTU18, DTU15, CLS15, CLS11 and WHU13), it was demonstrated that SJAO2020 produces the smallest errors, and its coastal accuracy is relatively reliable.