Ocean Science (May 2018)
Measuring currents, ice drift, and waves from space: the Sea surface KInematics Multiscale monitoring (SKIM) concept
- F. Ardhuin,
- Y. Aksenov,
- A. Benetazzo,
- L. Bertino,
- P. Brandt,
- E. Caubet,
- B. Chapron,
- F. Collard,
- S. Cravatte,
- J.-M. Delouis,
- F. Dias,
- G. Dibarboure,
- L. Gaultier,
- J. Johannessen,
- A. Korosov,
- G. Manucharyan,
- D. Menemenlis,
- M. Menendez,
- G. Monnier,
- A. Mouche,
- F. Nouguier,
- G. Nurser,
- P. Rampal,
- A. Reniers,
- E. Rodriguez,
- J. Stopa,
- C. Tison,
- C. Ubelmann,
- E. van Sebille,
- J. Xie
Affiliations
- F. Ardhuin
- Laboratoire d'Océanographie Physique et Spatiale (LOPS), Univ. Brest, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, Brest, France
- Y. Aksenov
- National Oceanographic Center, Southampton, SO14 3ZH, UK
- A. Benetazzo
- Institute of Marine Sciences, National Research Council (ISMAR-CNR), Venice, Italy
- L. Bertino
- Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center, Bergen, Norway
- P. Brandt
- GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Kiel, Germany
- E. Caubet
- Thales Alenia Space, Toulouse, France
- B. Chapron
- Laboratoire d'Océanographie Physique et Spatiale (LOPS), Univ. Brest, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, Brest, France
- F. Collard
- OceanDataLab, 870 Route de Deolen, 29280 Locmaria Plouzané, France
- S. Cravatte
- LEGOS, Université de Toulouse, CNES, CNRS, IRD, Toulouse, France
- J.-M. Delouis
- Laboratoire d'Océanographie Physique et Spatiale (LOPS), Univ. Brest, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, Brest, France
- F. Dias
- University College, Dublin, Ireland
- G. Dibarboure
- CNES, 18 avenue Edouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France
- L. Gaultier
- OceanDataLab, 870 Route de Deolen, 29280 Locmaria Plouzané, France
- J. Johannessen
- Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center, Bergen, Norway
- A. Korosov
- Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center, Bergen, Norway
- G. Manucharyan
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
- D. Menemenlis
- Earth Sciences Division, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
- M. Menendez
- Environmental Hydraulics Institute “IH Cantabria” Universidad de Cantabria, Santander, Spain
- G. Monnier
- Scalian Alyotech, 2 rue Antoine Becquerel, 35700 Rennes, France
- A. Mouche
- Laboratoire d'Océanographie Physique et Spatiale (LOPS), Univ. Brest, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, Brest, France
- F. Nouguier
- Laboratoire d'Océanographie Physique et Spatiale (LOPS), Univ. Brest, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, Brest, France
- G. Nurser
- National Oceanographic Center, Southampton, SO14 3ZH, UK
- P. Rampal
- Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center, Bergen, Norway
- A. Reniers
- Collecte Localisation Satellite (CLS), 8–10 Rue Hermes, 31520 Ramonville St-Agne, France
- E. Rodriguez
- Earth Sciences Division, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
- J. Stopa
- Laboratoire d'Océanographie Physique et Spatiale (LOPS), Univ. Brest, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, Brest, France
- C. Tison
- CNES, 18 avenue Edouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France
- C. Ubelmann
- Collecte Localisation Satellite (CLS), 8–10 Rue Hermes, 31520 Ramonville St-Agne, France
- E. van Sebille
- Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
- J. Xie
- Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center, Bergen, Norway
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.5194/os-14-337-2018
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 14
pp. 337 – 354
Abstract
We propose a satellite mission that uses a near-nadir Ka-band Doppler radar to measure surface currents, ice drift and ocean waves at spatial scales of 40 km and more, with snapshots at least every day for latitudes 75 to 82°, and every few days for other latitudes. The use of incidence angles of 6 and 12° allows for measurement of the directional wave spectrum, which yields accurate corrections of the wave-induced bias in the current measurements. The instrument's design, an algorithm for current vector retrieval and the expected mission performance are presented here. The instrument proposed can reveal features of tropical ocean and marginal ice zone (MIZ) dynamics that are inaccessible to other measurement systems, and providing global monitoring of the ocean mesoscale that surpasses the capability of today's nadir altimeters. Measuring ocean wave properties has many applications, including examining wave–current interactions, air–sea fluxes, the transport and convergence of marine plastic debris and assessment of marine and coastal hazards.
