co-chairs:      D. Sandwell (sandwell@geosat.ucsd.edu)
                J. Fernandes (mjfernan@fc.up.pt)

Satellite altimetry has revolutionized both marine geodesy and ocean science and has increased collaboration among these disciplines. 1) Dense altimeter measurements from by non-repeat missions have provided our first global view of the geoid, gravity field, and ocean floor topography. 2) Repeat-orbit altimeters have revealed the mesoscale and small-scale variability in the ocean basins. Current theories suggest a link between the seafloor roughness and the deep ocean mixing that is driven by tides and barotropic mesoscale currents. The next level of understand of these solid-earth to ocean interactions will require better altimeter range precision and a more frequent global coverage. Also there is ongoing research to improve the precision of altimeter measurements in coastal areas and construct seamless gravity fields across shorelines. Such improvements will extend the use of altimetry for monitoring tides and currents in coastal areas.
This session will focus on the following main topics:

• oceanographic models, data processing methods;
• improvements in short-wavelength gravity field recovery to measure seafloor topography and roughness;
• deep-ocean mixing by tidally-driven internal waves;
• effects of coastal tides on the recovery of gravity field and mesoscale variability;
• methodologies for improving altimetry data, with particular emphasis to coastal areas
• altimetry-gravimetry problem in coastal areas
• gravity field improvement and understanding the sea state bias by retracking altimeter waveforms;
• new technologies: swath altimetry, delay-doppler altimetry, GPS reflections, lidar and laser altimetry