Video: What is SWOT and what is Its Role in Climate Change ?
Francesco d’Ovidio (Researcher at LOCEAN-IPSL / CNRS) and Hind Oubanas (Researcher at INRAE G-eau) introduce the innovative SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography) satellite mission.
News
Final annual FaSt-SWOT meeting
Bringing together researchers from several countries to share four years of research results, the final annual FaSt-SWOT meeting reviewed the project's activities and scientific outcomes, discussed publication plans and future collaborations, and highlighted the value of international scientific cooperation in addressing major environmental challenges.
Publication: Disentangling noise and signal contributions in SWOT sea level data to improve surface current estimation
Drawing on fine-scale surface dynamics observed during a large drifter experiment in the Western Mediterranean Sea, a recent study assessed the quality of SWOT sea level measurements acquired during the 1-day repeat orbit phase. This work establishes a benchmark for extending SWOT sea level assessments to the global ocean.
Classroom activity: Reading ocean from space
The classroom activity Reading Ocean from Space helps students to explore how the SWOT satellite mission observes the ocean and freshwater systems, and to understand their role in climate science. It was developed by the Office for Climate education in partnership with CNES.
SWOT captured the Vortex merger chronology in the Lofoten Basin
The merging of anticyclonic eddy with the Lofoten Vortex was observed by an autonomous ocean glider and by SWOT satellite during the 1-day repeat orbit.
Song: The eddy melody
“La mélodie du tourbillon” is a musical poem inspired by research on eddies in the Mediterranean Sea. It was produced by Tomasi Record and released on the 3rd anniversary of the BioSWOT-Med campaign.
Publication: SWOT-guided sampling reveals distinct phytoplankton communities within a fine-scale front
An adaptive, multidisciplinary sampling strategy across a fine-scale front in the North Balearic Sea revealed distinct phytoplankton communities within the front. Results underscore the role of fine-scale variability in maintaining community heterogeneity, suggesting that fronts may act as refuges for non-dominant phytoplankton groups in moderately energetic, oligotrophic conditions.
Video: “Fabuleuses Rencontres”
The animated video "Fabuleuse Rencontres" - currently available in French - focuses on some of the first scientific findings of the BioSWOT-Med campaign, which investigated what drives phytoplankton diversity at fine scales in the Mediterranean Sea.
Publication: SWOT helps revealing the role of fine-scale eddies in nutrient redistribution in oligotrophic waters
A study published on Geophysical Research Letters shows that in the North Western Mediterranean Sea, fine-scale eddies can contribute to redistribution of nutrients across distinct scales, first by their accumulation deep inside the eddy and then through lateral diffusion outside it. With climate change, the oligotrophic conditions typical of the Mediterranean Sea are expected to expand in the global ocean and results from this work represents an important contribution in understanding the evolution of biogeochemical processes in the future.
The new wave of SWOT scientists: Quentin Bonassies
Hydrologist using data assimilation algorithms of remote sensing imagery for flood modeling and forecasting.