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

• Main Authors: Francesco d’Ovidio, Ananda Pascual, Jinbo Wang, Andrea M. Doglioli, Zhao Jing, Sebastien Moreau, Gérald Grégori, Sebastiaan Swart, Sabrina Speich, Frédéric Cyr, Benoit Legresy, Yi Chao, Lee Fu, Rosemary Anne Morrow
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2019-04-01
• Series: Frontiers in Marine Science
• Subjects: remote sensing; ocean dynamics; energy cascade; biogeochemial processes; submesoscale; mesoscale
• Online Access: https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2019.00168/full

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.