West Coast Sea Surface Height and Currents from Altimeters and Tide Gauges, 1992-2011

The Gridded Altimeter Fields with Enhanced Coastal Coverage data product contains Sea Surface Height Anomalies and geostrophic velocities for the US west coast from 35.25°N to 48.5°N latitude and 227.75°E to 248.5°E longitude. This annually updated dataset spans from October 14, 1992 through January 19, 2011. SSHA and velocities are derived from AVISO quarter degree DT UPD MSLA version 3.0 grids offshore, with coastal values interpolated from tide gauge observations.

Use Cases

• Modeling coastal ocean circulation based on geostrophic velocity fields.
• Analyzing sea level anomaly trends over time based on SSHA data.
• Studying the interaction between offshore and coastal ocean processes based on the combined altimeter and tide gauge methodology.
• Validating hydrodynamic models for the US west coast based on the gridded current data.

Strengths

• Provides a 19-year time series from 1992 to 2011.
• Enhances coastal coverage by combining satellite altimetry with tide gauge observations.
• Covers a specific geographic region (35.25°N-48.5°N, 227.75°E-248.5°E) relevant to US west coast studies.

Limitations

• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to the specific coastal region covered.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

SSHA and velocities derived from AVISO quarter degree DT UPD MSLA version 3.0 grids offshore, with coastal values interpolated from tide gauge observations.

Time Range

October 14, 1992 through January 19, 2011

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 01:39:15.509337; freshness should be verified.

Geography

US west coast encompassing 35.25 deg-48.5 deg N latitude and 227.75 deg-248.5 deg E longitude