ESA Creates Best-Ever Ocean Current Map with Satellite Data from GOCE

The ESA has now released the best-ever map of ocean currents that circulate our globe, revealing a bit more about the patterns that influence climate across the world. A year after the Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) satellite reentered the Earth's atmosphere, scientists have now made a breakthrough in our understanding of ocean currents.

The GOCE satellite mapped variations in Earth's gravity with unrivalled precision. This, in turn, has resulted in the most accurate shape of the "geoid," which is a hypothetical global ocean at rest. In fact, using the GOCE data, researchers were able to create the most accurate model of ocean current speeds to date.

In order to create this map, the researchers subtracted the GOCE geoid from the mean sea-surface height measured over a 20-year period by satellites, including ESA's veteran Envisat. The results revealed the mean dynamic topography of the ocean surface, showing higher- and lower-than-average water levels.

"The accurate estimate of ocean surface currents, as provided today by the combination of GOCE and altimetry data, is crucial for the better understand of the ocean dynamics," said Marie-Helene Rio from the Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate of the Italian National Research Council, in a news release. "In particular, the assimilation of this information into the operation ocean monitoring and forecasting systems will provide highly valuable new insight into the present and future state of the ocean."

The new ocean current map should allow researchers to better understand how best to manage oceans and coastal areas. It could also reveal a bit more about how currents can influence climate when applied to other data.

Currently, the scientists are using the wealth of data from GOCe to improve their understanding of ocean circulation, sea level, ice dynamics and Earth's interior.

The findings were presented at the opening of the 5^th International GOCE User Workshop at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France.