Altimeter observations of sea-level variability off the west coast of North America An updated version of a paper originally presented at Oceans from Space 'Venice 2000' Symposium , Venice, Italy, 9-13 October 2000.

A combination of careful harmonic analysis and high-resolution numerical modelling of tides in altimeter data from TOPEX/Poseidon and ERS-2 satellites allows detailed calculation of seasonal and interannual variability of sea level in coastal areas of the north-east Pacific Ocean. These calculations show large changes in sea level in marginal seas during the 1997-8 El Niño and La Niña events, as well as providing information on the origin and life cycle of large anticyclonic eddies, observed to be generated off the west coast of Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]