We report an evaluation of the ability of the TOPEX/Poseidon altimeter to observe equatorial inertia-gravity waves in the central Pacific. Aliasing problems limit us to examining meridional mode two, but this mode is an energetic one in the Pacific basin. These estimates of the temporal potential energy modulations are compared with estimates from tide gauges in the tropical Pacific, and we find that the time series obtained at these points show good agreement. ¿ 2001 American Geophysical Union