Engineering topics

Minster, Jean-Francois

Publications and source records attributed to Minster, Jean-Francois.

3 records

NASA NTRS1996

A New Milestone in Large-Scale Ocean Dynamics: The First Three Years of the TOPEX/POSEIDON Mission

The US/France TOPEX/POSEIDON satellite, which has been in orbit since August, 1992, is the first global ocean observing system specifically designed for studying ocean dynamics. The satellite uses a state-of-the-art radar altimeter system to determine the sea surface topography - the height of sea surface relative to a reference ellipsoid-with an unprecedented accuracy, and has returned a wealth of new information on the ocean circulation and its variations.

currents↗

NASA NTRS1991

Geophysical validation of TOPEX/Poseidon altimetry products

The objectives of this study are the following: (1) to assess the quality of the sea level observed by altimetry on a global scale, especially in tropical regions where the atmospheric effects are the most critical, and to prepare the altimeter data for their assimilation into tropical Oceanic General Circulation Models; and (2) to validate and calibrate the altimeter-derived sea state parameters, to assimilate these parameters into numerical models, and to estimate the altimeter's sea state and electromagnetic biases.

Menard, Yves↗

NASA NTRS1991

Ocean circulation using altimetry

Our group has been very actively involved in promoting satellite altimetry as a unique tool for observing ocean circulation and its variability. TOPEX/POSEIDON is particularly interesting as it is optimized for this purpose. It will probably be the first instrument really capable of observing the seasonal and interannual variability of subtropical and polar gyres and the first to eventually document the corresponding variability of their heat flux transport. The studies of these phenomena require data of the best quality, unbiased extraction of the signal, mixing of these satellite data with in situ measurements, and assimilation of the whole set into a dynamic description of ocean circulation. Our group intends to develop responses to all these requirements. We will concentrate mostly on the circulation of the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans: This will be done in close connection with other groups involved in the study of circulation of the tropical Atlantic Ocean, in the altimetry measurements (in particular, those of the tidal issue), and in the techniques of data assimilation in ocean circulation models.

Minster, Jean-Francois↗