Editorial

Aviso Altimetry

Aviso Altimetry is a multi-satellite databank dedicated to space oceanography. It is being developed in stages by the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (Cnes, the French Space Agency). Aviso will give the user community flexible access to data returned by a range of spacecraft and sensors, and flexible interaction with research scientists.

Our first major challenge is the French-American Topex/Poseidon altimeter mission, scheduled for launch in August 1992. The French Aviso unit will generate mixed products from the French and American instruments using geophysical data produced by the Cnes and Nasa ground data systems. Nasa's Po-Daac center will generate similar products. The geographical arrangements for distributing Topex/Poseidon data products to the international scientific community via Aviso and Po-Daac are covered by a Cnes-Nasa agreement. Both centers will distribute all Topex/Poseidon data.

 

Editor : Sophie Coutin-Faye

Editorial board : Pierrette Boudou, Pierre-Yves Le Traon, Michel Lefebvre et Patrick Vincent.

Others contributors : Frédérique Blanc, Michel Dorrer, Philippe Escudier, Philippe Gaspar, Jean-Luc Hourdequin and Yves Ménard.

English adaptation : Nigel Greenwood

Design: Pixeline