Eddy and wave dynamics in the South Atlantic as diagnosed from Geosat altimeter data

Almost 3 years of Geosat data were analyzed to ascertain the characteristics of the sea surface height variability in the South Atlantic. The nature of the sea surface height field is shown to be nonstationary, heterogeneous, and anisotropic. In particular, the wavenumber spectral characteristics of the sea surface height field, such as spectral slopes, shape, breaks in spectral slopes, and energy density values, vary with latitude and longitude within the basin. Mean frequency spectra, calculated from time series of sea surface height variability at crossover points, reveal evidence of annual and semiannual signatures with energy levels reaching 1000 cm² in the high-energy western and eastern systems. -from Authors