Preface

摘要

The Ocean Surface Topography Mission (OSTM)/Jason-2 is an international satellite mission whose main aim is to extend the continuous climate record of precise surface topography measurements into the next decade. OSTM/Jason-2 will continue to precisely measure the surface topography of the oceans and continental surface waters, following on the same orbit as its predecessors, TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason-1. The objectives of the mission are both operational and scientific, and as such the mission is a cooperative project between the space agencies CNES and NASA and the operational agencies EUMETSAT and NOAA. On the operational side, the mission will provide near-real time, high-precision altimetric measurements for integration into ocean forecasting models and other products. On the scientific side, the mission will extend the precise surface topography time series started by TOPEX/Poseidon in 1992 over two decades. This will allow us to study long-term variations of ocean circulation and mean sea level, including interannual and decadal oscillations, and to continue the long time series of lake and river level variations. The OSTM/Jason-2 measurement system has been specifically adapted to provide more quality data near the coasts and over terrestrial surface waters.