SEASTAR: A mission to study ocean submesoscale dynamics and small-scale atmosphere-ocean processes in coastal, shelf and polar seas
Other text in scientific journal, 2019
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 towards 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 towards spaceborne implementation within Europe and beyond.
Satellite
Marginal Ice Zone (MIZ)
Along-track (AT) interferometry
Air-sea interactions
Submesocale
Coastal
Radar
Upper ocean dynamics
Author
Christine Gommenginger
University of Southampton
Bertrand Chapron
IFREMER Institut Francais de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer
Andy Hogg
Australian National University
Christian Buckingham
UMS3113 Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer (IUEM)
Baylor Fox-Kemper
Brown University
Leif Eriksson
Chalmers, Space, Earth and Environment, Microwave and Optical Remote Sensing
Francois Soulat
Collecte Localisation Satellites
Clement Ubelmann
Collecte Localisation Satellites
Francisco Ocampo-Torres
Ensenada Center for Scientific Research and Higher Education (CICESE)
Bruno Buongiorno Nardelli
Consiglo Nazionale Delle Richerche
David Griffin
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
Francisco Lopez-Dekker
Delft University of Technology
Per Knudsen
Technical University of Denmark (DTU)
Ole B. Andersen
Technical University of Denmark (DTU)
Lars Stenseng
Technical University of Denmark (DTU)
Neil Stapleton
Defence Science and Technology Laboratory
Will Perrie
Bedford Institute of Oceanography
Nelson Violante-Carvalho
Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
Johannes Schulz-Stellenfleth
Helmholtz
David Woolf
Heriot-Watt University
Jordi Isern-Fontanet
CSIC - Instituto de Ciencias del Mar (ICM)
Fabrice Ardhuin
IFREMER Institut Francais de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer
Patrice M. Klein
IFREMER Institut Francais de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer
Alexis Mouche
IFREMER Institut Francais de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer
Ananda Pascual
CSIC-UIB - Instituto Mediterraneo de Estudios Avanzados (IMEDEA)
Xavier Capet
Laboratoire d'Océanographie et du Climat : Expérimentations et Approches Numériques
Daniele Hauser
Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales
Ad Stoffelen
Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute
Rosemary A. Morrow
UMR5566 Laboratoire d'études en géophysique et océanographie spatiales (LEGOS)
Lotfi Aouf
Meteo France
Øyvind Breivik
Norwegian Meteorological Institute
University of Bergen
Lee Lueng Fu
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
Johnny A. Johannessen
Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center
Yevgeny Aksenov
University of Southampton
Lucy Bricheno
University of Southampton
Joel Hirschi
University of Southampton
Adrien C. Martin
University of Southampton
Adrian P. Martin
University of Southampton
George Nurser
University of Southampton
Jeff Polton
University of Southampton
Judith Wolf
University of Southampton
Harald Johnsen
Northern Research Institute (Norut)
Alexander Soloviev
Nova Southeastern University
Gregg Jacobs
Naval Research Laboratory
Fabrice Collard
OceanDataLab
Steve B. Groom
Plymouth Marine Laboratory
Vladimir Kudryavstev
Russian State Hydrometeorological University
John L. Wilkin
Rutgers University
Victor Navarro
STARLAB BARCELONA SL
Alex Babanin
University of Melbourne
Matthew J. Martin
Met Office
John Siddorn
Met Office
Andy Saulter
Met Office
Tom Rippeth
Bangor University
William Emery
University of Colorado at Boulder
Nikolai Maximenko
University of Hawaii
Roland Romeiser
University of Miami
Hans Graber
University of Miami
Aida Alvera-Azcárate
University of Liège
Chris Hughes
University of Liverpool
Doug Vandemark
University of New Hampshire
Jose da Silva
University of Porto
Peter Jan Van Leeuwen
University of Reading
Alberto Naveira-Gabarato
University of Southampton
Johannes Gemmrich
University of Victoria
Amala Mahadevan
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Jose Marquez
Airbus Group
Yvonne Munro
Airbus Group
Sam Doody
Airbus Group
Geoff Burbidge
Airbus Group
Frontiers in Marine Science
2296-7745 (eISSN)
Vol. 6 JUL 457Subject Categories
Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences
Oceanography, Hydrology, Water Resources
Climate Research
DOI
10.3389/fmars.2019.00457