OBSERVATIONS OF INTERNAL SOLITARY WAVES USING ALTIMETRY DATA WORKING IN DIFFERENT MODES

Internal solitary waves (ISWs) are extensively studied using satellite images. Altimetry data has recently proved to be an additional data source for ISW studies. In this paper, we used altimetry data from different modes, i.e., traditional nadir-looking altimeter, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) altimeter, and imaging altimeter, to analyze their performance on ISW studies. Analysis shows that the traditional altimetry data have isotropy observation ability while the SAR altimetry data shows angle sensitivity to ISW propagation directions. The imaging altimeter shows good potential in the ISW studies because it can provide two-dimensional images as well as ISW induced sea surface height variations. Altimetry data can provide additional information for ISW parameter retrievals, such as the phase speed and amplitude.