Preparing for fine-scale ocean surface topography observations with the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) Mission

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosemary Morrow ◽  
Lee-Lueng Fu
Keyword(s):  
Surface Water ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Sea Surface Height ◽  
Internal Tides ◽  
Ocean Dynamics ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Fine Scale ◽  
In Situ Data ◽  
Ocean Topography

<p>The future international Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) Mission, planned for launch in late 2021, will make high-resolution 2D observations of sea-surface height using SAR radar interferometric techniques. SWOT will map the global and coastal oceans up to 77.6° latitude every 21 days over a swath of 120 km (20 km nadir gap). Today’s 2D mapped altimeter data can resolve ocean scales of 150 km wavelength whereas the SWOT measurement will extend our 2D observations down to 15-30 km, depending on sea state. SWOT will offer new opportunities to observe the oceanic dynamic processes at these smaller scales, that are important in the generation and dissipation of ocean kinetic energy, and are one of the main gateways connecting the surface to the ocean interior. Active vertical exchanges linked to these scales have impacts on the local and global budgets of heat and carbon, and on nutrients for biogeochemical cycles.</p><p>SWOT’s unprecedented 2D ocean SSH observations include “balanced” geostrophic eddy motions and high-frequency internal tides and internal waves. SWOT will provide global observations of the 2D structure of these phenomena, enabling us to learn more about their interactions, and helping us to interpret what is currently observed in 1D with conventional altimetry. Yet this mix of balanced and unbalanced motions is a challenge for calculating geostrophic currents directly from SSH or for reconstructing the 4D upper ocean circulation. At these small scales, the ocean dynamics evolve rapidly, and even with SWOT’s 2D SSH images, one satellite cannot observe the temporal evolution of these processes. SWOT data will need to be combined with other satellite and in-situ data and models to better understand the upper ocean 4D circulation (x,y,z,t) over the next decade. SWOT’s new technology will be a forerunner for the future altimetric observing system.</p><p>We will present recent progress in understanding the ocean dynamics contributing to fine-scale sea-surface height, including high-frequency processes such as internal tides, from 1D alongtrack altimetry, SAR data, in-situ data and models. We will also discuss the specific problems of validating the SWOT 2D small, rapid dynamics with in-situ data and other satellite data. </p>

scholarly journals Fine-scale features on the sea surface in SAR satellite imagery – Part 1: Simultaneous in-situ measurements

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 2885-2914 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Soloviev ◽  
C. Maingot ◽  
S. Matt ◽  
R. E. Dodge ◽  
S. Lehner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Models ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Companion Paper ◽  
In Situ Measurements ◽  
Ocean Dynamics ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Upper Ocean ◽  
Fine Scale ◽  
Sar Imagery

Abstract. This work is aimed at identifying the origin of fine-scale features on the sea surface in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery with the help of in-situ measurements as well as numerical models (presented in a companion paper). We are interested in natural and artificial features starting from the horizontal scale of the upper ocean mixed layer, around 30–50 m. These features are often associated with three-dimensional upper ocean dynamics. We have conducted a number of studies involving in-situ observations in the Straits of Florida during SAR satellite overpass. The data include examples of sharp frontal interfaces, wakes of surface ships, internal wave signatures, as well as slicks of artificial and natural origin. Atmospheric processes, such as squall lines and rain cells, produced prominent signatures on the sea surface. This data has allowed us to test an approach for distinguishing between natural and artificial features and atmospheric influences in SAR images that is based on a co-polarized phase difference filter.

scholarly journals Surface waters properties in the Laptev and the East-Siberian Seas in summer 2018 from in situ and satellite data

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anastasiia Tarasenko ◽  
Alexandre Supply ◽  
Nikita Kusse-Tiuz ◽  
Vladimir Ivanov ◽  
Mikhail Makhotin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Surface Water ◽  
Satellite Data ◽  
Water Masses ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Ekman Transport ◽  
Water Displacement ◽  
Wind Speeds ◽  
In Situ Data ◽  
Ocean Salinity

Abstract. Variability of surface water masses of the Laptev and the East-Siberian seas in August–September 2018 is studied using in situ and satellite data. In situ data was collected during ARKTIKA-2018 expedition and then completed with satellite estimates of sea surface temperature (SST) and salinity (SSS), sea surface height, satellite-derived wind speeds and sea ice concentrations. Derivation of SSS is still challenging in high latitude regions, and the quality of Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) SSS retrieval was improved by applying a threshold on SSS weekly error. The validity of SST and SSS products is demonstrated using ARKTIKA-2018 continuous thermosalinograph measurements and CTD casts. The surface gradients and mixing of river and sea waters in the free of ice and ice covered areas is described with a special attention to the marginal ice zone. The Ekman transport was calculated to better understand the pathway of surface water displacement. T-S diagram using surface satellite estimates shows a possibility to investigate the surface water masses transformation in detail.

scholarly journals An Observing System Simulation Experiment for the Calibration and Validation of the Surface Water Ocean Topography Sea Surface Height Measurement Using In Situ Platforms

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 281-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinbo Wang ◽  
Lee-Lueng Fu ◽  
Bo Qiu ◽  
Dimitris Menemenlis ◽  
J. Thomas Farrar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Surface Water ◽  
Simulation Experiment ◽  
System Simulation ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Station Keeping ◽  
Calibration And Validation ◽  
Wavenumber Spectrum ◽  
Ocean Topography ◽  
Observing System Simulation Experiment

AbstractThe wavenumber spectrum of sea surface height (SSH) is an important indicator of the dynamics of the ocean interior. While the SSH wavenumber spectrum has been well studied at mesoscale wavelengths and longer, using both in situ oceanographic measurements and satellite altimetry, it remains largely unknown for wavelengths less than ~70 km. The Surface Water Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite mission aims to resolve the SSH wavenumber spectrum at 15–150-km wavelengths, which is specified as one of the mission requirements. The mission calibration and validation (CalVal) requires the ground truth of a synoptic SSH field to resolve the targeted wavelengths, but no existing observational network is able to fulfill the task. A high-resolution global ocean simulation is used to conduct an observing system simulation experiment (OSSE) to identify the suitable oceanographic in situ measurements for SWOT SSH CalVal. After fixing 20 measuring locations (the minimum number for resolving 15–150-km wavelengths) along the SWOT swath, four instrument platforms were tested: pressure-sensor-equipped inverted echo sounders (PIES), underway conductivity–temperature–depth (UCTD) sensors, instrumented moorings, and underwater gliders. In the context of the OSSE, PIES was found to be an unsuitable tool for the target region and for SSH scales 15–70 km; the slowness of a single UCTD leads to significant aliasing by high-frequency motions at short wavelengths below ~30 km; an array of station-keeping gliders may meet the requirement; and an array of moorings is the most effective system among the four tested instruments for meeting the mission’s requirement. The results shown here warrant a prelaunch field campaign to further test the performance of station-keeping gliders.

scholarly journals East of Japan, Upper Ocean Waves Follow a Seasonal Cycle

Eos ◽  
2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Stanley
Keyword(s):  
Seasonal Cycle ◽  
Ocean Waves ◽  
Sea Surface Height ◽  
Ocean Dynamics ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Upper Ocean ◽  
Fine Scale ◽  
Satellite Mission ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Surface Ocean

The seasonality of fine-scale, near-surface ocean dynamics raises important considerations for an upcoming satellite mission to measure global sea surface height.

Stochastic Dynamics of Sea Surface Height Variability

2010 ◽  
Vol 40 (7) ◽  
pp. 1582-1596 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Sura ◽  
Sarah T. Gille
Keyword(s):  
Stochastic Dynamics ◽  
Kuroshio Extension ◽  
Random Noise ◽  
Equations Of Motion ◽  
Sea Surface Height ◽  
Ocean Dynamics ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Double Exponential ◽  
Ocean Topography ◽  
Non Gaussian

Abstract Sea surface height anomalies measured by the Ocean Topography Experiment (TOPEX)/Poseidon satellite altimeter indicate high values of skewness and kurtosis. Except in a few regions, including the Gulf Stream, the Kuroshio Extension, and the Agulhas Retroflection, that display bimodal patterns of sea surface height variability, kurtosis is uniformly greater than 1.5 times the squared skewness minus an adjustment constant. This relationship differs substantially from what standard Gaussian or double-exponential noise would produce. However, it can be explained by a simple theory in which the noise is assumed to be multiplicative, meaning that a larger background state implies larger random noise elements. The existence of multiplicative noise can be anticipated from the equations of motion, if ocean dynamics are split into a slowly decorrelating deterministic component and a rapidly decorrelating contribution that is approximated as noise. Such a model raises the possibility of predicting the probabilities of extreme sea surface height anomalies from first physical principles and may provide a useful null hypothesis for non-Gaussian sea surface height variability.

scholarly journals Sea Surface Height Variability in Drake Passage

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 669-683 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen A. Donohue ◽  
Maureen A. Kennelly ◽  
Amy Cutting
Keyword(s):  
Fracture Zone ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Drake Passage ◽  
Sea Surface Height ◽  
Polar Front ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Circumpolar Current ◽  
Shackleton Fracture Zone

AbstractIntercomparisons between altimeter sea surface height (SSH) and open-ocean in situ observations have been limited owing to sparse available datasets. Here, SSH anomaly (SSHA) determined from current and pressure recording inverted echo sounders (CPIES) from the cDrake experiment were compared with an up-to-date AVISO-mapped product. Meandering Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) fronts in the passage interior elevated SSHA variance; south of the Shackleton Fracture Zone and along the northern continental slope, the variance decreased by factors between 6 and 10. In situ analysis focused on the two constituents of SSHA, SSHAref determined from bottom pressure and SSHAbcb calculated from geopotential height referenced to the bottom. The peak variance of both SSHAbcb and SSHAref occurred in the energetic region between the Subantarctic Front and the Polar Front. The contribution of SSHAbcb to total SSHA variance was greater than 40% at all sites and averaged over all sites it was 73%. For most sites, high-frequency (>1/20 cpd) SSHAbcb signals dominated total high-frequency variance. Aliasing of high-frequency signals resulting from 10-day altimeter sampling was assessed. The fraction of aliased energy at frequencies longer than 1/50 cpd for sites at and north of the Shackleton Fracture Zone approached 0.25 and approached 0.50 for southern sites. CPIES and mapped altimeter SSHA agreed well. The mean correlation coefficient was 0.82 and the mean RMS difference was 0.075 m. Correlations between CPIES and AVISO were notably poorer at the northern and southern boundaries. RMS differences increased as a function of CPIES high-frequency SSHA variance because the mapped altimetry product does not resolve these frequencies.

Some Expectations for Submesoscale Sea Surface Height Variance Spectra

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (9) ◽  
pp. 2271-2289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jörn Callies ◽  
Weiguang Wu
Keyword(s):  
Internal Wave ◽  
Internal Waves ◽  
Sea Surface Height ◽  
Internal Tides ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Fourth Power ◽  
Modest Improvement ◽  
In Situ Observations ◽  
Balanced Flow

AbstractIn anticipation of the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) wide-swath altimetry mission, this study reviews expectations for sea surface height (SSH) variance spectra at wavelengths of 10–100 km. Kinetic energy spectra from in situ observations and numerical simulations indicate that SSH variance spectra associated with balanced flow drop off steeply with wavenumber, with at least the negative fourth power of the wavenumber. Such a steep drop-off implies that even drastic reductions in altimetry noise yield only a modest improvement in the resolution of balanced flow. This general expectation is made concrete by extrapolating SSH variance spectra from existing altimetry to submesoscales, the results of which suggest that in the extratropics (poleward of 20° latitude) SWOT will improve the resolution from currently about 100 km to a median of 51 or 74 km, depending on whether or not submesoscale balanced flows are energetic. Internal waves, in contrast to balanced flow, give rise to SSH variance spectra that drop off relatively gently with wavenumber, so SSH variance should become strongly dominated by internal waves in the submesoscale range. In situ observations of the internal-wave field suggest that the internal-wave signal accessible by SWOT will be largely dominated by internal tides. The internal-wave continuum is estimated to have a spectral level close to but somewhat lower than SWOT’s expected noise level.

scholarly journals Potential and Limitations of Satellite Altimetry Constellations for Monitoring Surface Water Storage Changes—A Case Study in the Mississippi Basin

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (20) ◽  
pp. 3320
Author(s):  
Denise Dettmering ◽  
Laura Ellenbeck ◽  
Daniel Scherer ◽  
Christian Schwatke ◽  
Christoph Niemann
Keyword(s):  
Surface Water ◽  
Mississippi River ◽  
Satellite Altimetry ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Water Area ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
In Situ Data ◽  
Ocean Topography

Remote sensing data are essential for monitoring the Earth’s surface waters, especially since the amount of publicly available in-situ data is declining. Satellite altimetry provides valuable information on the water levels and variations of lakes, reservoirs and rivers. In combination with satellite imagery, the derived time series allow the monitoring of lake storage changes and river discharge. However, satellite altimetry is limited in terms of its spatial resolution due to its measurement geometry, only providing information in the nadir direction beneath the satellite’s orbit. In a case study in the Mississippi River Basin (MRB), this study investigates the potential and limitations of past and current satellite missions for the monitoring of basin-wide storage changes. For that purpose, an automated target detection is developed and the extracted lake surfaces are merged with the satellites’ tracks. This reveals that the current altimeter configuration misses about 80% of all lakes larger than 0.1 km2 in the MRB and 20% of lakes larger than 10 km2, corresponding to 30% and 7% of the total water area, respectively. Past altimetry configurations perform even more poorly. From the larger water bodies represented by a global hydrology model, at least 91% of targets and 98% of storage changes are captured by the current altimeter configuration. This will improve significantly with the launch of the planned Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission.

scholarly journals Identification and Reduction of Retracker-Related Noise in Altimeter-Derived Sea Surface Height Measurements

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 201-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward D. Zaron ◽  
Robert deCarvalho
Keyword(s):  
High Frequency ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Sea Surface Height ◽  
Internal Tides ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Independent Data ◽  
Altimetry Data ◽  
Signal To Noise ◽  
Scale Separation ◽  
Along Track

AbstractData from the Jason-2 calibration/validation mission phase have been analyzed to identify the correlation between sea surface height (SSH) and significant wave height (SWH) errors. A cross-spectral analysis indicates that the SSH and SWH errors are nearly white and significantly correlated at scales from 12 to 100 km, consistent with the hypothesized error source, the waveform retracker. Because of the scale separation between the SWH signal and noise, it is possible to correct the SSH data by removing the SSH noise correlated with the SWH noise. Such a correction has been implemented using the empirical correlation found during the Jason-2 calibration orbit phase and applied to independent data from other phases of the Jason-1 mission. The efficacy of the correction varies geographically, but variance reductions between 1.6 and 2.2 cm2 have been obtained, corresponding to reductions of 20%–27% in the noise floor of along-track spectra. The corrections are obtained from and applied to conventional, 1 Hz, altimetry data and lead to improvements in the signal-to-noise ratio for identification of high-frequency narrowband processes—for example, internal tides—from these data.

scholarly journals Rapid observations of ocean dynamics and stratification along a steep island coast during Hurricane María

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (20) ◽  
pp. eabf1552
Author(s):  
Olivia M. Cheriton ◽  
Curt D. Storlazzi ◽  
Kurt J. Rosenberger ◽  
Clark E. Sherman ◽  
Wilford E. Schmidt
Keyword(s):  
Puerto Rico ◽  
Water Column ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Coastal Communities ◽  
Ocean Dynamics ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Hurricane Intensity ◽  
Island Coast ◽  
New Framework ◽  
Insular Shelf

Hurricanes are extreme storms that affect coastal communities, but the linkages between hurricane forcing and ocean dynamics remain poorly understood. Here, we present full water column observations at unprecedented resolution from the southwest Puerto Rico insular shelf and slope during Hurricane María, representing a rare set of high-frequency, subsurface, oceanographic observations collected along an island margin during a hurricane. The shelf geometry and orientation relative to the storm acted to stabilize and strengthen stratification. This maintained elevated sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) throughout the storm and led to an estimated 65% greater potential hurricane intensity contribution at this site before eye passage. Coastal cooling did not occur until 11 hours after the eye passage. Our findings present a new framework for how hurricane interaction with insular island margins may generate baroclinic processes that maintain elevated SSTs, thus potentially providing increased energy for the storm.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document