Evaluation of the geoid based on the SEASAT altimetry data at sea around Antarctica

Abstract

The SEASAT radar altimetry data, which were obtained during its operational period from June to September 1978,have been processed, and the sea surface topography and/or the geoid in the area between 45°S and the margin of the Antarctic Continent have been contour-mapped. Mainly because of the uncertainty involved in the satellite altitude the sea surface topography includes maximum errors of ±5m. However, some significant features such as geoid depressions at the Ross Sea and the Weddell Sea or the regional geoid upheavals over the Indian Ocean off East Antarctica have been clearly displayed.