Search

This paper briefly describes the latest developments which have been made a CMS, Lannion, in the field of sea surface parameter restitution, i.e. the use of an interactive image processing system for sea surface temperature (SST) analysis over the Mediterranean Sea, the combined use of Meteosat and Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) data for SST field production, the routine production of surface solar irradiance fields and the survey of phytoplankton blooms with visible AVHRR data. This last experiment was made at the request of a group of French oceanographers.The other developmentsare parts of a programme aiming to retrieve small-scale characteristics of the ocean-atmosphere thermodynamics. The next main step of this programme is the extension of the use of an image processor to include an operational survey of the north-east Atlantic.

Data from the NOAA-7 Advanced Very-High-Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) have been used on a routine basis for sea surface temperature (SST) retrieval at the Centre de Meteorologie Spatiale (CMS) in Lannion (France) since September 1983. Operational SST retrieval is still practised at CMS, using NOAA-9 data. Two methods are used. The first, which is automatic, produces numerical fields (resolution: 15 × 15 nautical miles); the second is manual and produces graphic documents (resolution about 10 km). The corresponding products are published in a monthly bulletin, SATMER. The accuracy of satellite SSTs has been tested by various methods, the results of which are discussed. Some case studies of SST time variability in the Mediterranean are presented. One of the main conclusions is the need for mesoscale (10 km) numerical SST fields produced as often as possible (daily) by interactive methods.