Persistency of ocean swell fields observed from space

Fabrice Collard (1) , Fabrice Ardhuin (2) , Bertrand Chapron (3)

1 CLS - Collecte Localisation Satellites [Toulouse]
2 SHOM - Service Hydrographique et Océanographique de la Marine
3 LOS - Laboratoire d'Océanographie Spatiale

Using global satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) observations, swell systems are confirmed to travel over very large distances across ocean basins. To yield global and almost continuous coverage of these very well organized wave systems emanating from the different intense storms, a geometrical optics approach is applied. The data are gathered globally and systematically, but the SAR-derived peak wavelength and directional parameters are restricted to the longer swell detected systems for which the SAR-mapping distortion is minimal. Owing to the quality of the retrieved swell parameters, the methodology is shown to provide accurate estimates of the swell arrival times up to 6 days ahead.

Mots clés: swell; global; ocean

Domaines: Physique Atmosphérique et Océanique [physics.ao-ph]

Fabrice Collard, Fabrice Ardhuin, Bertrand Chapron. Persistency of ocean swell fields observed from space. 2008. ⟨hal-00346656v2⟩