Creation of Vertical Reference Surfaces at Sea Using Altimetry and GPS

Abstract

The creation of vertical reference surfaces at sea, related to a reference ellipsoid, is a necessary step to enable the use of GPS (Global Positioning System) for referencing depth measurements at sea. Several projects exist for specific parts of the oceans, resulting in surfaces that partly overlap. As an example, we will present the French BATHYELLI project in detail, followed by a comparison of results for the North Sea area. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013.