Phase‐Resolved Swells Across Ocean Basins in SWOT Altimetry Data: Revealing Centimeter‐Scale Wave Heights Including Coastal Reflection
Abstract Severe storms produce ocean waves with periods of 18–26 s, corresponding to wavelengths 500–1,055 m. These waves radiate globally as swell, generating microseisms and affecting coastal areas. Despite their significance, long waves often elude detection by existing remote sensing systems when their height is below 0.2 m. The new Surface Water Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite offers a breakthrough by resolving these waves in global sea level measurements. Here we show that SWOT can detect 25‐s waves with heights as low as 3 cm, and resolves period and direction better than in situ buoys. SWOT provides detailed maps of wave height, wavelength, and direction across ocean basins. These measurements unveil intricate spatial patterns, shedding light on wave generation in storms, currents that influence propagation, and refraction, diffraction and reflection in shallow regions. Notably, the magnitude of reflections exceeds previous expectations, illustrating SWOT's transformative impact.
Authors
- Frédéric Nouguier (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7551-0158)
- Beatriz Molero (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2781-8721)
- A. Bohé (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6024-1330)
- Isabel Houghton (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7480-2415)
- Fabrice Ardhuin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9309-9681)
- Benoı̂t Legrésy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1909-1630)
- Andrea Hay (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9556-0059)
- Fabrice Collard (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-3534-0511)
Institutions
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (AU)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- University of Tasmania (AU)
- Ifremer (FR)
- Université de Bretagne Occidentale (FR)
- Centre National d'Études Spatiales (FR)
- Collecte Localisation Satellites (France) (FR)
- Integrated Marine Observing System (AU)
- Health Sciences and Nutrition (AU)
- Ocean Power Technologies (United States) (US)
- Laboratory for Ocean Physics and Satellite Remote Sensing (FR)
- Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer (FR)
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Geophysical Research Letters
- Published
- 2024-08-22
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1029/2024gl109658
- Citations
- 20
- Primary Topic
- Ocean Waves and Remote Sensing
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 9.62
Funders
- European Space Agency
- Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales