OCEAN SURFACE CURRENTS RECONSTRUCTION AT A GLOBAL SCALE FROM MICROWAVE MEASUREMENTS

In this work we evaluate surface ocean current reconstruction at a global scale from microwave Sea Surface Temperature (SST) measurements, based on the Surface Quasi-Geostrophic (SQG) theory. One of the main advantages of microwave measurements is that they are not affected by cloud cover, which is an important aspect for global studies and operational applications. A new heuristic method that combines the benefits of microwave and altimetry measurements is also proposed and evaluated. Results showed that reconstruction of surface currents based on SQG theory can be improved if the information about the energy spectrum provided by altimeters is used.