Intercomparisons are made among three sets of results for two regions of the Gulf Stream, upstream and downstream of the New England Seamount Chain (NESC): observational records from 12 inverted echo sounders with pressure gauges (IES/PGs), concurrent Geosat altimeter crossover point differences, and results from a primitive equation model of the region. Standard deviations of sea surface topography show generally good agreement for the three data sources. No significant difference between the upstream and downstream regions is observed in the actual data. IES/PG records and Geosat topographic variability have values of about 30 cm on both sides of the NESC, although model results show a discrepancy in the eastern region. Barotropic fluctuations account for about 30% of the total surface topographic variability and are only partially correlated with baroclinic fluctuations. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1989