GEOS 3 altimeter data are adjusted to minimize differences at the intersections or crossovers between ascending and descending orbits. This procedure removes noise created by orbital uncertainty and permits study of sea level variations, without knowledge of the geoid. The root mean squares (rms) of the adjusted differences, grouped within 2¿ latitude by 2¿ longitude boxes, are mapped for the western boundary current regime and adjacent Antarctic Circumpolar Current segment for each southern hemisphere ocean, as well as for the eastern Indian Ocean, where sufficient crossover data are available. The rms crossover values are compared to surface-based hydrographic data studies of ocean transients for verification of the altimeter results. The altimeter data clearly reveal reasonable patterns of sea level transients associated with the western boundary currents and Antarctic Circumpolar Current. In addition, the rms values reveal regions of locally amplified tidal features adjacent to the Patagonian coast of Argentina and in the region west of New Zealand. The altimeter data verify and expand on the results of limited surface-based data sets, particularly in the case of the circulation transients south of Madagascar, and southwest of New Caledonia. In the eastern Indian Ocean the altimeter data suggest variable sea level conditions near 10¿-20¿S, near 20¿-30¿S, and near 50¿S. The last is associated with the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, but the source of the northern variable regions is not clear.