Oceanographers commonly calculate large scale surface ocean circulation
from satellite sea level information using a concept called «geostrophy,» which describes the relationship between oceanic surface flows and sea level gradient.
However, in areas where motion is dominated by internal waves,
satellite sea level can only be used to infer motion on a very large scale (resolution of 125 miles).
Linear trends are appropriate for the time period after 1990 where the data are described well by a linear trend plus interannual noise (that's why we show a linear trend for
the satellite sea level in our paper), but they don't capture the longer - term climate evolution very well, e.g. the nearly flat temperatures up to 1980.
Acceleration
the satellite sea level record imminent.
0.3 mm of
the satellite sea level rise is virtual (CGSLR).