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| AVISO | |
|---|---|
| Name | AVISO |
| Formation | 1992 |
| Headquarters | Toulouse |
| Type | Research data service |
| Parent organization | CNES |
AVISO
AVISO is a French-based oceanographic data service that provides satellite altimetry products, geophysical corrections, and derived oceanographic datasets. It serves researchers, operational centers, and international programs by distributing sea surface height, geostrophic velocity, and sea level anomaly products derived from radar altimeters. AVISO operates within a network of European and global institutions to support studies in ocean circulation, climate variability, and maritime operations.
AVISO distributes processed satellite altimetry datasets and value-added products for the oceanographic community, enabling analyses across scales from mesoscale eddies to basinwide circulation. Its operations interface with institutions such as CNES, European Space Agency, NASA, NOAA, and EUMETSAT while supporting programs like the GODAE and Argo arrays. AVISO products are used alongside observations from TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason-1, Jason-2, Jason-3, Sentinel-3, and CryoSat-2 and inform models operated by groups such as the Mercator Ocean International and Copernicus services.
AVISO traces origins to efforts following the launch of TOPEX/Poseidon and coordination among CNES and NASA to exploit altimetry for oceanography. Early work integrated datasets from missions like ERS-1, ERS-2, and Envisat and established standards for geophysical corrections and gridded sea level products. Over time AVISO adjusted methodologies with the arrival of successive missions—Jason-1, Jason-2, Jason-3, Sentinel-3A, Sentinel-3B—and expanded collaborations with entities such as IFREMER, LEGOS, SHOM, and CLS Group. AVISO’s evolution paralleled advances in global observing systems including Argo and contributed to assessments by panels like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
AVISO has been governed through partnerships among national agencies and research laboratories, aligning with strategic directives from CNES and integration with European infrastructures like EUMETSAT and EMSO. Its management involves scientific boards and technical committees including representatives from LEGOS, Ifremer, Mercator Ocean International, and international stakeholders such as NASA and NOAA. AVISO’s policies on data distribution, product versioning, and quality control are shaped by guidelines from programs like GODAE and European research frameworks including Horizon 2020 and coordination with Copernicus Marine Service.
AVISO provides multi-mission altimeter products, delayed-time and near-real-time sea level anomaly maps, mean sea surface models, along-track corrections, merged sea surface height datasets, and geostrophic velocity estimates. Products are commonly used with ancillary fields from OSTIA, SST analyses, and WindSat scatterometer observations; they support reanalysis efforts such as those by ECMWF and regional systems operated by ROMS or HYCOM. AVISO supplies methodological documentation, quality flags, and value-added datasets tailored for applications in climate studies, operational oceanography, and coastal monitoring.
Processing at AVISO relies on precise orbit determination, tropospheric and ionospheric corrections, wet path delay estimation using radiometer and model inputs, and tide modeling incorporating global solutions such as FES2014. Techniques include optimal interpolation and objective mapping for gridded products, along-track editing for outlier detection, and multi-mission cross-calibration referencing missions like TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason-3. AVISO integrates satellite altimetry with in situ observations from Argo floats and tide gauge networks coordinated by organizations such as PSMSL to produce blended products and error estimates.
AVISO datasets underpin research into large-scale sea level rise assessed by bodies including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, studies of mesoscale variability influencing fisheries and shipping, and operational forecasting used by regional centers such as Mercator Ocean International and national hydrographic offices like SHOM. Applications cover eddy detection used in studies by Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, coastal sea level monitoring relevant to agencies like NOAA and UK Met Office, and support for marine renewable energy planning assessed in projects with partners such as EMD and industry consortia.
AVISO collaborates with a wide network including CNES, NASA, ESA, EUMETSAT, NOAA, IFREMER, LEGOS, CLS Group, Mercator Ocean International, European Commission initiatives such as Copernicus, and scientific institutions like Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, ESSP, and Imperial College London. It contributes to international programs such as GODAE, supports deployments coordinated with Argo and Global Ocean Observing System, and engages in capacity building through collaborations with regional bodies like IOC and academic partnerships spanning University of Southampton and Plymouth University.