Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Authors

Christine Gommenginger, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton
Bertrand Chapron, Institut Francais de Recherche pour l’Exploitation de la Mer - Plouzané, France
Andy Hogg, Australian National University
Christian Buckingham, Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer
Baylor Fox-Kemper, Brown University
Leif Eriksson, Chalmers University of Technology
Francois Soulat, Collecte Localisation Satellites
Clement Ubelmann, Collecte Localisation Satellites
Francisco Ocampo-Torres, Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada
Bruno Buongiorno Nardelli, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche
David Griffin, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
Paco Lopez-Dekker, Delft University of Technology
Per Knudsen, Technical University of Denmark
Ole Andersen, Technical University of Denmark
Lars Stenseng, Aalborg University
Neil Stapleton, Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, Salisbury
William Perrie, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Nelson Violante-Carvalho, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
Johannes Schulz-Stellenfleth, Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht – Centre for Materials and Coastal Research
David Woolf, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh
Jordi Isern-Fontanet, Institut de Ciencies del Mar
Fabrice Ardhuin, Institut Français de Recherche pour l’Exploitation de la Mer
Patrice Klein, Institut Français de Recherche pour l’Exploitation de la Mer
Alexis Mouche, Institut Français de Recherche pour l’Exploitation de la Mer
Ananda Pascual, Institut Mediterrani d’Estudis Avançats
Xavier Capet, Laboratoire d’Océanographie et du Climat Expérimentations et Approches Numériques
Daniele Hauser, Milieux, Observations Spatiales
Ad Stoffelen, Koninklijk Nederlands Meteorologisch Instituut
Rosemary Morrow, Laboratoire d’Etudes en Géophysique et Océanographie Spatiales
Lotfi Aouf, Météo-France
Øyvind Breivik, Norwegian Meteorological Institute; University of Bergen
Lee-Leung Fu, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, La Cañada Flintridge, CA
Johnny A. Johannessen, Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center
Yevgeny Aksenov, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton
Lucy Bricheno, University of Liverpool
Joel Hirschi, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton
Adrien C. H. Martin, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton
Adrian P. Martin, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton
George Nurser, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton
Jeff Polton, University of Liverpool
Judith Wolf, University of Liverpool
Harald Johnsen, Northern Research Institute
Alexander Soloviev, Nova Southeastern UniversityFollow
Gregg A. Jacobs, United States Naval Research Laboratory
Fabrice Collard, OceanDataLab
Steve Groom, Plymouth Marine Laboratory
Vladimir Kudryavtsev, Russian State Hydrometeorological University
John Wilkin, Rutgers University
Victor Navarro, Starlab
Alex Babanin, The University of Melbourne
Matthew Martin, Met Office
John Siddorn, Met Office
Andrew Saulter, Met Office
Tom Rippeth, Bangor University
Bill Emery, University of Colorado Boulder
Nikolai Maximenko, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa
Roland Romeiser, University of Miami
Hans Graber, University of Miami
Aida Alvera Azcarate, University of Liège
Chris W. Hughes, University of Liverpool
Doug Vandemark, University of New Hampshire, Durham
Jose da Silva, University of Porto
Peter Jan Van Leeuwen, University of Reading; Colorado State University
Alberto Naveira-Garabato, University of Southampton
Johannes Gemmrich, University of Victoria
Amala Mahadevan, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Jose Marquez, Airbus Defence and Space Ltd
Yvonne Munro, Airbus Defence and Space Ltd
Sam Doody, Airbus Defence and Space Ltd
Geoff Burbidge, Airbus Defence and Space Ltd

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Frontiers in Marine Science

ISSN

2296-7745

Publication Date

8-13-2019

Keywords

Satellite, Air sea interactions, Upper ocean dynamics, Submesoscale, Coastal, Marginal ice zone, Radar, Along-track interferometry

Abstract

High-resolution satellite images of ocean color and sea surface temperature reveal an abundance of ocean fronts, vortices and filaments at scales below 10 km but measurements of ocean surface dynamics at these scales are rare. There is increasing recognition of the role played by small scale ocean processes in ocean-atmosphere coupling, upper-ocean mixing and ocean vertical transports, with advanced numerical models and in situ observations highlighting fundamental changes in dynamics when scales reach 1 km. Numerous scientific publications highlight the global impact of small oceanic scales on marine ecosystems, operational forecasts and long-term climate projections through strong ageostrophic circulations, large vertical ocean velocities and mixed layer re-stratification. Small-scale processes particularly dominate in coastal, shelf and polar seas where they mediate important exchanges between land, ocean, atmosphere and the cryosphere, e.g., freshwater, pollutants. As numerical models continue to evolve toward finer spatial resolution and increasingly complex coupled atmosphere-wave-ice-ocean systems, modern observing capability lags behind, unable to deliver the high-resolution synoptic measurements of total currents, wind vectors and waves needed to advance understanding, develop better parameterizations and improve model validations, forecasts and projections. SEASTAR is a satellite mission concept that proposes to directly address this critical observational gap with synoptic two-dimensional imaging of total ocean surface current vectors and wind vectors at 1 km resolution and coincident directional wave spectra. Based on major recent advances in squinted along-track Synthetic Aperture Radar interferometry, SEASTAR is an innovative, mature concept with unique demonstrated capabilities, seeking to proceed toward spaceborne implementation within Europe and beyond.

DOI

10.3389/fmars.2019.00457

Volume

6

Issue

457

First Page

1

Last Page

7

Comments

MINI REVIEW ARTICLE

Peer Reviewed

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