The Inconsistent Pairs Between In Situ Observations of Near Surface Salinity and Multiple Remotely Sensed Salinity Data

Abstract

Abstract This study employs three remotely sensed Sea Surface Salinity products to diagnose the “inconsistent pairs” between the in situ observations of the Near Surface Salinity from delayed‐mode tropical moored buoys and Argo floats and the satellite salinity in the temporal range of April 2015–December 2018. By means of an adapted 3‐Sigma criterion and unanimous voting strategy, 11 (636) moored buoys (Argo floats) have at least one inconsistent observation pairs in their time series and 1 (41) have more than five. Besides, the time series of 1 (25) moored buoy (Argo floats) is diagnosed as inconsistent series due to the large bias of the whole series. Corresponding to a wide range of shifted observations, the continuous inconsistent values of moored buoy 8n38w can be flagged as bad observations. In terms of Argo, the combined analysis of time series, trajectories, profiles, and analyzed fields implies that the inconsistent pairs between Argo and satellite products are closely related to the mesoscale motions. The results suggest that sub‐footprint variability plays a dominant role in the inconsistent pairs of Argo, as most inconsistencies are characterized by the near‐surface mixed layer. Furthermore, the continuous positive inconsistencies of Argo 4901466 highlight the temporal under‐sampling of the existing satellite salinity products.

Keywords

• inconsistent pairs
• in situ salinity
• remotely sensed salinity
• sub‐footprint variability