Publication: Telling waves and currents apart in SWOT sea level measurements
Comparing SWOT measurements with mooring observations during the 1-day repeat orbit in a region where internal gravity waves (IGWs) are particularly strong, a new study demonstrates SWOT’s ability to accurately capture the sea surface height signature of high-frequency internal waves at the centimeter level. It provides a benchmark for future studies aiming to characterize internal waves from SWOT measurements across the global ocean, while highlighting the need for improved methods to separate the contributions of ocean currents and wave-like motions where in situ data are not available.