Estimation of the Geophysical Parameters Effect on the Altimetric Measurements for Sea Surface Height Determination

The emergence of satellite altimetry has allowed us to determine the ocean surface with a great
precision; it also allows a large contribution for most applications and oceanographic activities. The
geometric principle of space altimetry is to measure the range between the satellite and the sea
surface.
The objective of this paper is to estimate the geophysical parameters (sea state bias and ocean tide)
affecting the altimetric measurements for Jason-1 satellite, using the analytical and empirical models.
The comparison of the estimated and provided values permit to minimize the default values for
and improve its estimation, and also improve the ocean tide estimation.
The comparison of obtained results of six (6) years Jason-1 data processing on the western
Mediterranean of every parameter with data transmitted in the satellite message permitted us to
validate our developed methodological approach. The quality of these results permits the
determination of the Western Mediterranean mean sea level.