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Mean Sea Surface

Sea Surface Height

The mean sea surface (MSS) is an important field in physical oceanography, geophysics, and geodesy. In principle, it corresponds to the time-averaged height of the ocean surface. Auxiliary product : mean sea profile above a reference ellipsoid (T/P or WSG84). This surface is available on a regular grid (1/60°x1/60°, 1 minute). Another grid provides the estimation of error fields which represent the MSS accuracy estimated through the inverse technique.

The mean sea surface MSS_CNES_CLS2022 has been computed using a 29-year [1993-2021] period of altimetric data.

Compared to the 2015 previous version, this new determination focuses on better accounting for interannual and seasonal ocean variability, on the significant improvement on polar Oceans, and on the improvement of the shorter wavelengths of the static parts of the MSS. As usually, the mean profiles from ERM (Exact Repeat Mission) missions that provide the most accurate estimate of the oceanic mean content are used. Compared to the previous CNES_CLS2015 MSS, this version includes new High Resolution datasets from CryoSat-2 and AltiKa, filtered at 5 Hz to obtain a better signal to noise ratio. This new solution is also improved in arctic region using an optimal combination between conventional SSH and LEADS (linear fractures) over free ice areas.

Data and resources

Additional information

Date (creation)2022-06-15
Date (publication)2022-06-15
StatusonGoing
Update frequencyasNeeded
Metadata languagefr
LicenseLicence ouverte
Source metadataISO 19115 XML
Last updated2026-11-04
Created2026-11-04
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