Existing and new synthetic Mean Dynamic Topography, Mean Sea Surface and geoid models in the Northern North Atlantic

The primary goal for the NFR funded project OCTAS, Ocean Circulation and Transport Between North Atlantic and the Arctic Sea, is to determine the Mean Dynamic Topography, MDT, which is the difference between the mean sea surface and the geoid. The mean dynamic topography provides the absolute reference surface for the ocean circulation. The improved determination of the mean circulation will advance the understanding the role of the ocean mass and heat transport in climate research. Existing geoid, mean sea surface and mean dynamic topography models have been collected and intercompared. Best combinations of models have been determined and synthetic geoid, mean sea surface and mean dynamic topography models have been computed. These models will be compared with the relevant state of the art models for the OCTAS study area.