Ocean Science www.ocean-sci.net 1812-0784 1812-0792 3 2 2007 10.5194/os-3-223-2007 http://www.ocean-sci.net/3/223/2007/ http://www.ocean-sci.net/3/223/2007/os-3-223-2007.html http://www.ocean-sci.net/3/223/2007/os-3-223-2007.pdf 223 228 2007-05-14 Towards measuring the meridional overturning circulation from space D. Cromwell ddc@noc.soton.ac.uk A. G. P. Shaw P. Challenor R. E. Houseago-Stokes R. Tokmakian Ocean Observations and Climate, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (NOCS), UK Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California, USA We present a step towards measuring the meridional overturning circulation (MOC), i.e. the full-depth water mass transport, in the North Atlantic using satellite data. Using the Parallel Ocean Climate Model, we simulate satellite observations of ocean bottom pressure and sea surface height (SSH) over the 20-year period from 1979–1998, and use a linear model to estimate the MOC. 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