Sea level SSH from C3S

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Access

RESTRICTED: This link to the data set is only available for a restricted user group. The data set is only accessible in CEN/MPI net or accessible from external nets with a customer account. Please contact ICDC if you would like to access this data from outside the network.

View data at LAS (use pulldown menu for more years): MSLA | MADT
Access data via OPeNDAP
Data access via file system: /data/icdc/ocean/aviso_ssh

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Description

This is the successor to the former AVISO data set. After Copernicus (CMEMS) took over the AVISO DUACS of the mean sea surface height (MADT) and its anomaly (msla), we now provide version SEALEVEL_GLO_PHY_CLIMATE_L4_MY_008_057. It includes satellite altimetry data from Topex/Poseidon, Jason-1 and -2 and -3, ERS-1 and -2, Envisat, Cryosat-2, SARAL/Altika, and Sentinel-3a. Following the full reprocessing of MY products for December 2021 release, this new product replaces previous SEALEVEL_GLO_PHY_CLIMATE_L4_REP_OBSERVATIONS_008_057. Compared to the previous version this product includes up-to-date altimeter standards and geophysical corrections, improvements of the quality at mesoscales, and new variables about the correction for the Topex-A instrumental drift and formal mapping errors on zonal and meridional geostrophic velocity.

The data set is based on data from two satellites throughout the entire period. The data set has daily temporal resolution for msla, madt and the surface current components u and v.

Details on the data processing can be found in the Documentation section of CMEMS website, details on the change from SEALEVEL_GLO_PHY_CLIMATE_L4_REP_OBSERVATIONS_008_057 to SEALEVEL_GLO_PHY_CLIMATE_L4_MY_008_057 can be found at the CMEMS website, too (see references).

Last update of data set at ICDC: Jan 25, 2024

Fig. 1: Temporal trends of Mean Sea level anomaly from Jan. 1993 to Dec. 2011 in mm/yr, 0.33 deg x 0.33 deg resolution based on the former AVISO product. Copyright: UHH/CEN/AJB

Fig. 2: Temporal trends of Mean Absolute Dynamic Topography from Jan. 1993 to Dec. 2011 in mm/yr, 0.33 deg x 0.33 deg resolution based on the former AVISO product. Copyright: UHH/CEN/AJB

The global mean sea level rise since January 1993: From this plot, the rise in mean sea level has been estimated as 3.6 mm/year, mean slope of the plotted data — Fig. 2: The global mean sea level rise since January 1993: From this plot, the rise in mean sea level has been **estimated as 3.6 mm/year**, mean slope of the plotted data. The underlying data set from AVISO can be downloaded on the AVISO Website. Copyright: R.Sadikni

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Parameters

Parameters of the SSH data set
Name	Unit
Mean Sea Level Anomaly (sla)	m
Formal mapping error (err_sla)	m
Surface current vector anomaly: u-component (ugosa)	m/s
Surface current vector anomaly: v-component (vgosa)	m/s
Formal mapping error for Surface current vector anomaly: u-component (err_ugosa)	m/s
Formal mapping error for Surface current vector anomaly: v-component (err_vgosa)	m/s
Absolute Mean Sea Level (adt)	m
Surface current vector: u-component (ugos)	m/s
Surface current vector: v-component (vgos)	m/s

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Coverage, spatial and temporal resolution

Period and temporal resolution:

1993-01-01 - 2023-06-07
Daily

Coverage and spatial resolution:

Global
Spatial resolution: 0.25° x 0.25°, Cartesian grid
Geographic latitude: -89.875°N to 89.875°N
Geographic longitude: 0.125°E to 359.875°E
Dimension: 1440 columns x 720 rows
Altitude: 0.0 m

Format:

NetCDF

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Data quality

Please see the documentation at CMEMS website for information about the data quality.

In addition we would like to add the following information:

Throughout the entire period the data set is based on (at least) two satellites. As satellites have a limited lifetime the composition of satellite data changes over time. In order to mitigate inconsistencies due to utilizing different satellites during the overlapping periods of two satellites three different satellites are used for the products. A list of which sensors have been used over which periods is given in the Product User Guide (see references).
Poleward of 66°N and 66°S the data set relies on data from one satellite only.
For data close to land, in shallow water areas, and close to the sea ice cover larger uncertainties occur.

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