A Broadband View of the Sea Surface Height Wavenumber Spectrum

© 2022 The Authors.

Bibliographische Detailangaben
Veröffentlicht in:Geophysical research letters. - 1984. - 49(2022), 4 vom: 28. Feb., Seite e2021GL096699
1. Verfasser: Villas Bôas, Ana B (VerfasserIn)
Weitere Verfasser: Lenain, Luc, Cornuelle, Bruce D, Gille, Sarah T, Mazloff, Matthew R
Format: Online-Aufsatz
Sprache:English
Veröffentlicht: 2022
Zugriff auf das übergeordnete Werk:Geophysical research letters
Schlagworte:Journal Article SWOT airborne lidar altimetry meso and submesoscale sea surface height surface waves
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:© 2022 The Authors.
Airborne lidar altimetry can measure the sea surface height (SSH) over scales ranging from hundreds of kilometers to a few meters. Here, we analyze the spectrum of SSH observations collected during an airborne lidar campaign conducted off the California coast. We show that the variance in the surface wave band can be over 20 times larger than the variance at submesoscales and that the observed SSH variability is sensitive to the directionality of surface waves. Our results support the hypothesis that there is a spectral gap between meso-to-submesoscale motions and small-scale surface waves and also indicate that aliasing of surface waves into lower wavenumbers may complicate the interpretation of SSH spectra. These results highlight the importance of better understanding the contributions of different physics to the SSH variability and considering the SSH spectrum as a continuum in the context of future satellite altimetry missions
Beschreibung:Date Revised 31.07.2022
published: Print-Electronic
Citation Status PubMed-not-MEDLINE
ISSN:0094-8276
DOI:10.1029/2021GL096699