AVISO Absolute Dynamic Topography for CMIP5 Climate Models

AVISO satellite-derived absolute dynamic topography data provides monthly averages on 1-degree grids from October 1992 to December 2010. The dataset was created by the French space agency data provider for the CMIP5 climate model intercomparison project under the World Climate Research Program. It includes ancillary files for observation counts and standard error on the same grids.

Use Cases

• Validate and calibrate climate model ocean simulations based on satellite-derived dynamic topography.
• Analyze long-term trends in sea surface height relative to the geoid based on the 18-year monthly time series.
• Assess the uncertainty of oceanographic measurements using the provided standard error ancillary data.
• Compare multi-satellite data fusion results from Envisat, TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason-1, and OSTM/Jason-2.

Strengths

• Data spans 18 years from October 1992 to December 2010.
• Includes ancillary files for observation counts and standard error on the same 1-degree grids.
• Derived from multiple satellite missions including Envisat, TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason-1, and OSTM/Jason-2.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Last updated 2026-03-13 11:22:24.833514; freshness should be verified.
• Data may reflect temporal bias inherent to the specific satellite missions and processing period.

Provenance

Source

AVISO (French space agency data provider), National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Derived from sea surface height measured by several satellites and binned/averaged monthly on 1-degree grids.

Time Range

October 1992 to December 2010

Geography

Global oceans