ECCO V4r4b: Monthly Mean Sea Surface Height on a 0.5-Degree Grid, 1992-2017

ECCO Version 4 Release 4b provides a monthly-averaged dynamic sea surface height dataset interpolated to a regular 0.5-degree grid. The dataset is a dynamically consistent ocean state estimate produced by NASA, covering the period from 1992-01-01 to 2018-01-01. It assimilates observations from multiple satellite altimeters, radiometers, gravimeters, and in-situ programs.

Use Cases

• Analyzing long-term trends in global sea surface height based on the 26-year monthly time series.
• Validating ocean general circulation models using the dynamically consistent state estimate.
• Studying ocean eddy variability and large-scale circulation patterns from the gridded geospatial data.
• Assessing the impact of data assimilation from multiple satellite and in-situ sources on model outputs.

Strengths

• Covers a 26-year period from 1992 to 2018, providing a long-term climate record.
• Assimilates data from over 10 distinct satellite missions and multiple in-situ observation programs.
• Provides data on a regular 0.5-degree global grid, facilitating spatial analysis.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data freshness should be verified as the last metadata update is listed as a future date (2026-03-13).

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Dynamically and kinematically-consistent reconstruction from the MITgcm, fit to observations in a least-squares sense.

Time Range

1992-01-01T12:00:00 to 2018-01-01T00:00:00

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 02:55:29.047235; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global ocean coverage on a 0.5-degree grid.