SEASTAR: A mission to study ocean submesoscale dynamics and small-scale atmosphere-ocean processes in coastal, shelf and polar seas
SEASTAR: A mission to study ocean submesoscale dynamics and small-scale atmosphere-ocean processes in coastal, shelf and polar seas
Date
2019-08-13
Authors
Gommenginger, Christine
Chapron, Bertrand
Hogg, Andy
Buckingham, Christian
Fox-Kemper, Baylor
Eriksson, Leif
Soulat, Francois
Ubelmann, Clement
Ocampo-Torres, Francisco
Nardelli, Bruno Buongiorno
Griffin, David
Lopez-Dekker, Paco
Knudsen, Per
Andersen, Ole
Stenseng, Lars
Stapleton, Neil
Perrie, Will
Violante-Carvalho, Nelson
Schulz-Stellenfleth, Johannes
Woolf, David K.
Isern-Fontanet, Jordi
Ardhuin, Fabrice
Klein, Patrice
Mouche, Alexis
Pascual, Ananda
Capet, Xavier
Hauser, Daniele
Stoffelen, Ad
Morrow, Rosemary
Aouf, Lotfi
Breivik, Øyvind
Fu, Lee-Lueng
Johannessen, Johnny A.
Aksenov, Yevgeny
Bricheno, Lucy
Hirschi, Joel
Martin, Adrien C. H.
Martin, Adrian P.
Nurser, A. J. George
Polton, Jeff
Wolf, Judith
Johnsen, Harald
Soloviev, Alexander
Jacobs, Gregg A.
Collard, Fabrice
Groom, Steve
Kudryavtsev, Vladimir
Wilkin, John L.
Navarro, Victor
Babanin, Alexander
Martin, Matthew
Siddorn, John
Saulter, Andrew
Rippeth, Tom P.
Emery, Bill
Maximenko, Nikolai
Romeiser, Roland
Graber, Hans C.
Alvera Azcarate, Aida
Hughes, Chris W.
Vandemark, Douglas
da Silva, Jose
Van Leeuwen, Peter Jan
Naveira Garabato, Alberto C.
Gemmrich, Johannes
Mahadevan, Amala
Marquez, Jose
Munro, Yvonne
Doody, Sam
Burbidge, Geoff
Chapron, Bertrand
Hogg, Andy
Buckingham, Christian
Fox-Kemper, Baylor
Eriksson, Leif
Soulat, Francois
Ubelmann, Clement
Ocampo-Torres, Francisco
Nardelli, Bruno Buongiorno
Griffin, David
Lopez-Dekker, Paco
Knudsen, Per
Andersen, Ole
Stenseng, Lars
Stapleton, Neil
Perrie, Will
Violante-Carvalho, Nelson
Schulz-Stellenfleth, Johannes
Woolf, David K.
Isern-Fontanet, Jordi
Ardhuin, Fabrice
Klein, Patrice
Mouche, Alexis
Pascual, Ananda
Capet, Xavier
Hauser, Daniele
Stoffelen, Ad
Morrow, Rosemary
Aouf, Lotfi
Breivik, Øyvind
Fu, Lee-Lueng
Johannessen, Johnny A.
Aksenov, Yevgeny
Bricheno, Lucy
Hirschi, Joel
Martin, Adrien C. H.
Martin, Adrian P.
Nurser, A. J. George
Polton, Jeff
Wolf, Judith
Johnsen, Harald
Soloviev, Alexander
Jacobs, Gregg A.
Collard, Fabrice
Groom, Steve
Kudryavtsev, Vladimir
Wilkin, John L.
Navarro, Victor
Babanin, Alexander
Martin, Matthew
Siddorn, John
Saulter, Andrew
Rippeth, Tom P.
Emery, Bill
Maximenko, Nikolai
Romeiser, Roland
Graber, Hans C.
Alvera Azcarate, Aida
Hughes, Chris W.
Vandemark, Douglas
da Silva, Jose
Van Leeuwen, Peter Jan
Naveira Garabato, Alberto C.
Gemmrich, Johannes
Mahadevan, Amala
Marquez, Jose
Munro, Yvonne
Doody, Sam
Burbidge, Geoff
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Date Created
Location
DOI
10.3389/fmars.2019.00457
Related Materials
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Replaced By
Keywords
Satellite
Air sea interactions
Upper ocean dynamics
Submesoscale
Coastal
Marginal ice zone
Radar
Along-track interferometry
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.
Description
© The Author(s), 2019. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Gommenginger, C., Chapron, B., Hogg, A., Buckingham, C., Fox-Kemper, B., Eriksson, L., Soulat, F., Ubelmann, C., Ocampo-Torres, F., Nardelli, B. B., Griffin, D., Lopez-Dekker, P., Knudsen, P., Andersen, O., Stenseng, L., Stapleton, N., Perrie, W., Violante-Carvalho, N., Schulz-Stellenfleth, J., Woolf, D., Isern-Fontanet, J., Ardhuin, F., Klein, P., Mouche, A., Pascual, A., Capet, X., Hauser, D., Stoffelen, A., Morrow, R., Aouf, L., Breivik, O., Fu, L., Johannessen, J. A., Aksenov, Y., Bricheno, L., Hirschi, J., Martin, A. C. H., Martin, A. P., Nurser, G., Polton, J., Wolf, J., Johnsens, H., Soloviev, A., Jacobs, G. A., Collard, F., Groom, S., Kudryavtsev, V., Wilkin, J., Navarro, V., Babanin, A., Martin, M., Siddorn, J., Saulter, A., Rippeth, T., Emery, B., Maximenko, N., Romeiser, R., Graber, H., Azcarate, A. A., Hughes, C. W., Vandemark, D., da Silva, J., Van Leeuwen, P. J., Naveira-Garabato, A., Gemmrich, J., Mahadevan, A., Marquez, J., Munro, Y., Doody, S., & Burbidge, G. SEASTAR: A mission to study ocean submesoscale dynamics and small-scale atmosphere-ocean processes in coastal, shelf and polar seas. Frontiers in Marine Science, 6, (2019):457, doi:10.3389/fmars.2019.00457.
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Citation
Gommenginger, C., Chapron, B., Hogg, A., Buckingham, C., Fox-Kemper, B., Eriksson, L., Soulat, F., Ubelmann, C., Ocampo-Torres, F., Nardelli, B. B., Griffin, D., Lopez-Dekker, P., Knudsen, P., Andersen, O., Stenseng, L., Stapleton, N., Perrie, W., Violante-Carvalho, N., Schulz-Stellenfleth, J., Woolf, D., Isern-Fontanet, J., Ardhuin, F., Klein, P., Mouche, A., Pascual, A., Capet, X., Hauser, D., Stoffelen, A., Morrow, R., Aouf, L., Breivik, O., Fu, L., Johannessen, J. A., Aksenov, Y., Bricheno, L., Hirschi, J., Martin, A. C. H., Martin, A. P., Nurser, G., Polton, J., Wolf, J., Johnsens, H., Soloviev, A., Jacobs, G. A., Collard, F., Groom, S., Kudryavtsev, V., Wilkin, J., Navarro, V., Babanin, A., Martin, M., Siddorn, J., Saulter, A., Rippeth, T., Emery, B., Maximenko, N., Romeiser, R., Graber, H., Azcarate, A. A., Hughes, C. W., Vandemark, D., da Silva, J., Van Leeuwen, P. J., Naveira-Garabato, A., Gemmrich, J., Mahadevan, A., Marquez, J., Munro, Y., Doody, S., & Burbidge, G. (2019). SEASTAR: A mission to study ocean submesoscale dynamics and small-scale atmosphere-ocean processes in coastal, shelf and polar seas. Frontiers in Marine Science, 6, 457.