Frontiers in Fine-Scale in situ Studies: Opportunities During the SWOT Fast Sampling Phase

Francesco d'Ovidio (1) , Ananda Pascual (2) , Jinbo Wang (3) , Andrea M. Doglioli (4) , Zhao Jing (5) , Sébastien Moreau (6) , Gérald Grégori (4) , Sebastiaan Swart (7, 8) , Sabrina Speich (9) , Frédéric Cyr (10) , Benoit Legresy (11) , Yi Chao (12) , Lee Fu (3) , Rosemary Anne Morrow (13)

1 PROTEO - Processus et interactions de fine échelle océanique
2 IMEDEA - Institut Mediterrani d'Estudis Avancats
3 JPL - Jet Propulsion Laboratory
4 MIO - Institut méditerranéen d'océanologie
5 Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology
6 Norwegian Polar Institute
7 Department of Oceanography [Cape Town]
8 Department of Marine Sciences [Gothenburg]
9 LMD - Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (UMR 8539)
10 DFO - Fisheries and Oceans Canada
11 CSIRO Marine and Atmosphere Research [Hobart]
12 Remote Sensing Solutions
13 LEGOS - Laboratoire d'études en Géophysique et océanographie spatiales

Conceived as a major new tool for climate studies, the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite mission will launch in late 2021 and will retrieve the dynamics of the oceans upper layer at an unprecedented resolution of a few kilometers. During the calibration and validation (CalVal) phase in 2022, the satellite will be in a 1-day-repeat fast sampling orbit with enhanced temporal resolution, sacrificing the spatial coverage. This is an ideal opportunity – unique for many years to come – to coordinate in situ experiments during the same period for a focused study of fine scale dynamics and their broader roles in the Earth system. Key questions to be addressed include the role of fine scales on the ocean energy budget, the connection between their surface and internal dynamics, their impact on plankton diversity, and their biophysical dynamics at the ice margin.

Domaines: Océan, Atmosphère

Francesco d'Ovidio, Ananda Pascual, Jinbo Wang, Andrea M. Doglioli, Zhao Jing, et al.. Frontiers in Fine-Scale in situ Studies: Opportunities During the SWOT Fast Sampling Phase. Frontiers in Marine Science, 2019, 6, pp.168. ⟨10.3389/fmars.2019.00168⟩. ⟨hal-02124793⟩