Integrated observations of global surface winds, currents, and waves: Requirements and challenges for the next decade

• Published in: Frontiers in Marine Science
• Main Authors: Bôas, A.B.V., Ardhuin, Fabrice, Ayet, A., Bourassa, M.A., Brandt, P., Chapron, B., Cornuelle, B.D., Farrar, J.T., Fewings, M.R., Fox-Kemper, B., Gille, S.T., Gommenginger, C., Heimbach, P., Hell, M.C., Li, Q., Mazloff, M.R., Merrifield, S.T., Mouche, A., Rio, M.H., Rodriguez, Elizandro, Shutler, J.D., Subramanian, A.C., Terrill, E.J., Tsamados, M., Ubelmann, C., Sebille, E.
• Other Authors: Laboratoire d'Océanographie Physique et Spatiale (LOPS), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR), National Oceanography Centre Southampton (NOC), University of Southampton, EAPS, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Laboratoire Lasers, Plasmas et Procédés photoniques (LP3), Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas España = Spanish National Research Council Spain (CSIC), University College of London London (UCL), Collecte Localisation Satellites (CLS), LabexMER Marine Excellence Research: a changing ocean (2010), ANR-10-LABX-0019,LabexMER,LabexMER Marine Excellence Research: a changing ocean(2010)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2019
• Subjects: air-sea interactions; Doppler oceanography from space; surface waves; absolute surface velocity; ocean surface winds; Currents; [SDV.MP]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Microbiology and Parasitology; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-02945102; https://hal.science/hal-02945102/document; https://hal.science/hal-02945102/file/fmars-06-00425.pdf; https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2019.00425

cited By 9 International audience Ocean surface winds, currents, and waves play a crucial role in exchanges of momentum, energy, heat, freshwater, gases, and other tracers between the ocean, atmosphere, and ice. Despite surface waves being strongly coupled to the upper ocean circulation and the overlying atmosphere, efforts to improve ocean, atmospheric, and wave observations and models have evolved somewhat independently. From an observational point of view, community efforts to bridge this gap have led to proposals for satellite Doppler oceanography mission concepts, which could provide unprecedented measurements of absolute surface velocity and directional wave spectrum at global scales. This paper reviews the present state of observations of surface winds, currents, and waves, and it outlines observational gaps that limit our current understanding of coupled processes that happen at the air-sea-ice interface. A significant challenge for the coming decade of wind, current, and wave observations will come in combining and interpreting measurements from (a) wave-buoys and high-frequency radars in coastal regions, (b) surface drifters and wave-enabled drifters in the open-ocean, marginal ice zones, and wave-current interaction "hot-spots," and (c) simultaneous measurements of absolute surface currents, ocean surface wind vector, and directional wave spectrum from Doppler satellite sensors.