Mesoscale eddies are ubiquitous in the ocean, they can originate nearly everywhere, move around the basin and transporting trapped water with anomalous properties with respect to the surroundings. Although only the surface expression of mesoscale eddies is visible in remote sensing measurement of sea level anomaly (SLA), they are three-dimensional (3D) structures that can reach down into the pycnocline.
WATER project plans to study the population of “active” eddies that can be extracted from surface altimetry and sea surface temperature maps. “Active” eddies are surface SLA pattern that include a colocalized SST environmental anomaly that is typically the signal of the 3D physical/biological processes concurring in the same place.
The project plans to assess the active population both in the SWOT-enhanced altimetry maps and the conventional altimetry data to quantify the impact of the next-generation altimeter.
18 months da 01/03/2025 a 01/09/2026
General aims
The assessment of the global active eddy population both in the next-generation SWOT-enhanced altimetry data and in the conventional altimetry data is the main objective together with the construction of an eddy detection system based on machine-learning approach
CMCC role
CMCC effort mainly focuses on the analysis of altimetry maps as well as the design and implementation of machine-learning detection system.
Activities
Analysis of SWAT-enhanced data and comparison against conventional altimetry. Design and implementation of a detection system based on machine-learning approach.
Expected results
Enriched mesoscale dynamics is expected to be found in the SWOT data. Based on that, a mixed approach (conventional/SWOT data) for ML training is planned to be tested to improve the detection in a pre-SWOT period ”
Partners
Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center (NERSC)