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The utilization of satellite altimeter data sets from previous and present satellite altimeter missions is imperative to both oceanographic and geodetic applications. The important parameter that can be derived from satellite altimeter is sea level anomaly, while it is also fundamental for sea level monitoring, geoid determination and current circulations study. This paper presents an effort to determine sea level anomaly for Malaysian seas from six satellite altimeter missions; TOPEX, JASON1, JASON2, ERS1, ERS2 and ENVISAT. The best range and geophysical corrections for Malaysian seas were also investigated in this study by evaluating two state of the art corrections available for 9 years of TOPEX satellite altimeter (from January 1993 to December 2001). Sea level data retrieval and reduction were carried out using the Radar Altimeter Database System (RADS). The comparison of near-simultaneous altimeter and tide gauges observations showed good agreement with the correlations are higher than 0.87 at Tioman Island, Langkawi Island and Kota Kinabalu. This paper introduces RADS and deals with determination of sea level anomaly using the best range and geophysical corrections in Malaysian seas.

The mean velocity field of south Indian Ocean has been derived by combining high resolution maps of sea level anomalies and the surface drifter data from the Global Drifter program from 1993 to 2012 with a resolution of 1/3 × 1/3 degrees in latitude and longitude. The estimated mean velocity field exhibits strong western boundary currents, zonal currents and eastern boundary currents. The Agulhas Current shows a velocity of above 1.5 m s -1 at around 35°S. The distribution of energy associated with the fluctuating motion and the mean flow illustrates that mesoscale variability are particularly relevant in the Mozambique Channel, south of Java and around 40°S. Advection of mesoscale features along the western boundary is evident in the distribution of eddy fluxes. The long-term average monthly surface velocity field exhibits large variations in surface currents. The most change is observed in the South Equatorial Current which shows spatial and temporal variations.Key words: South Indian Ocean, Circulation, Currents, Satellite altimetry, Surface drifter Citation: Benny, N. P., D. Ambe, K. R. Mridula, S. Ses, K. M. Omar, and M. R. Mahmud, 2014: Mean and seasonal circulation of the South Indian Ocean estimated by combining satellite altimetry and surface drifter observations. Terr. Atmos. Ocean. Sci., 25, 91-106, doi: 10.3319/TAO.2013.08.05.01(Oc)

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