Quality Assessment of the Jason-2 Operational and Interim Geophysical Data Records

The Ocean Surface Topography Mission onboard the Jason-2 satellite represents a transition fromthe Topex/Poseidon and Jason-1 research altimetry missions, operated by NASA and CNES, to an operational mission that now includes NOAA and EUMETSAT. The near real-time (NRT) data production and distribution is shared by NOAA and EUMETSAT. This paper describes how the Jason-2 data are shared within the United States between NOAA and Navy entities. Differences between the NRT products and offline products are assessed to determine if the NRT products are accurate enough to meet the operational needs of wind/wave and sea surface height applications.