The Geosat altimeter operated for 4.5 years during 1985-89,
and was the only satellite to capture the sea level changes
associated with the 1987 El Nino.
A significantly improved version of the Geosat data was
released by NOAA in June 1997.
The Geosat Handbook
is available on-line, and the set of CD-ROMS may be obtained from
NODC
.
Geosat Founding Fathers: Bruce Douglas, Russ Agreen (circa 1998)