GOCE studies of mean dynamic topography and ocean circulation in the high latitude and Arctic Ocean (GOCE-MDT).

Using the ESA Earth Explorer GOCE derived geoid a new high-resolution window of the mean dynamic topography (MDT) and ocean circulation in the high latitude and Arctic Ocean has been derived. This MDT in combination with in-situ data, satellite altimetry and simulated products from ocean models have advanced: - the understanding of the relationship between the MDT, the mean ocean circulation and the magnitude of mean ocean volume transport; - the insight on the kinetic energy and the partition between the mean and time varying ocean circulation; - the capability to intercompare and validate ocean models. The project has also been linked to a very good international collaborative network and research groups from the Technical University of Denmark and the Institute for Meereskunde in Hamburg, Germany. See uploaded paper for more details. The project achievements and findings have been presented at international workshops at ESA-ESTEC and ESA Living Planet symposium as well as at the RCN funded REOCIRC kick-off meeting at UNIS, Svalbard. The findings are also used to update the lecture material in Satellite Oceanography (GEOF 334) taught at Geophysical Institute, University of Bergen. Several papers and proceedings have been published in peer review journals and conference proceedings.

The European Space Agency (ESA) Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) mission was successfully launched in October 2009. GOCE is dedicated to measuring the Earth's gravity field and the geoid with unprecedented accuracy. The pro posed GOCE-MDT project targets the understanding and use of these GOCE data for dedicated advanced studies of the ocean circulation in the high latitude and Arctic Ocean. The additional joint use of radar altimetry data and gravity field measurements is moreover strengthening the future use of data from the ESA Sentinel 3 SRAL mission. Three key tasks will be executed: (i) construction of the first high-resolution (~100 km) MDT of the high latitude and Arctic Ocean for different temporal periods (e.g. 19 92-2012; 1992-2001; 2002-2012) to allow investigation of decadal changes. (ii) development of new insight on the relationship between the MDT and the ocean circulation in the high latitude and Arctic Ocean including the mean and time-varying ocean circula tion and associated transports. (iii) Inter-comparison and validation of the MDT in the high latitude and Arctic Ocean, using existing in-situ data, recent new integrated composite MDT and simulated model fields for the high latitude and Arctic Ocean Th e proposed research study is aimed to be carried out around a PhD project with a 3-years duration. It is fully compliant with the Norwegian Government HighNorth strategy. International collaboration is secured through participation in the FP7 SPACE funded project MONARCH-A. The Norwegian Space Center funded PRODEX-IGOCE project and the Research Council of Norway funded project SATICE (under agreement with the European Science Foundation) ensure resources for interaction and supervision. The PhD grant will be an excellent opportunity to strengthen the recruiting of young scientists to this field of satellite oceanography which is yet a rather underexplored research area in Norway compared to the Europe and USA