17 years and counting: Satellite altimetry from research to operations

In 1992, NASA and the French space agency launched the first high-precision satellite altimeter to measure changes in sea surface height. With it began a new era in oceanography. Data from satellite altimeters continues to be used to estimate global sea level rise, sea surface height, geostrophic velocity, significant wave height and atmospheric water vapor over the global oceans. In combination with other ocean observations such as color, winds, and gravity, as well as temperature, salinity and velocity from profiling floats, researchers continue to discover new insights into a wide variety of ocean processes and are increasingly able to discern more mesoscale structures. Precision satellite altimetry has matured to the stage where responsibility for the observations is being transitioned from research agencies to operational agencies. Maintaining these observations over the long term will have important implications for climate monitoring as well as scientific and operational use.