![]() ![]() ![]() The accuracy of the wind and wave forecasts has impressively increased in the last 20 or 30 years (The WISE group report 2007), as a result of improved modeling and initialization by observations in so-called data assimilation procedures. Nowadays, forecasters mainly rely on numerical models based on prognostic equations. In the operational application domain, the monitoring and modeling of wind, waves, and currents (as well as ocean temperature, productivity, and bathymetry) are required to promote more safe, efficient, and successful operations at sea and mitigate adverse impacts on navigation, exploration, tourism, and coastal communities. For all these reasons, observations of surface wind, waves, and currents are needed by the research and operational communities to better understand and quantify these interactions and represent them in numerical models. The ocean surface currents combined with the drift induced by wind-generated waves contribute to the transport of heat, salt and pollutants (Ardhuin et al. At high latitudes, the sea-ice evolution is impacted by wind, waves, and currents (Stopa et al. In addition, waves and currents are major factors in sediment transport and coastal erosion. Several parameters, including surface wind and waves, contribute to a water level increase at the coast during storm events. When wind-generated waves in the open ocean arrive at the coast, their properties are modified by the bathymetry and the near surface currents. This includes momentum, heat and gas fluxes (e.g., CO 2) at the air/sea interface, turbulence, and vertical mixing in the ocean and atmospheric boundary layers, production of spray in the atmosphere, and sea-ice evolution. Surface winds, waves, and currents are the evident manifestation at the ocean surface of the atmospheric and oceanic thermodynamic ‘engine effect.’ However, in return, the processes affected by surface wind, waves, and current are numerous (Cavaleri et al. All these aspects are recalled in the article, relating to both historical and contemporary activities in these fields. Long-time series of global sea-state observations are also becoming increasingly important to analyze the impact of climate change on our environment. In turn, these predictive models are used to guarantee safe, efficient, and successful offshore operations, including the commercial shipping and energy sector, as well as tourism and coastal activities. For operational applications, observations of surface parameters are necessary on the one hand to constrain the numerical solutions of predictive models (numerical wave, oceanic, or atmospheric models), and on the other hand to validate their results. Waves and surface currents also impact sediment transport and erosion in coastal areas. Secondly, ocean surface currents combined with wind- and wave- induced drift contribute to the transport of heat, salt, and pollutants. Firstly, surface wind, waves, and currents are significant factors influencing exchanges at the air/sea interface, impacting oceanic and atmospheric boundary layers, contributing to sea level rise at the coasts, and interacting with the sea-ice formation or destruction in the polar zones. The richness and diversity of these applications are linked to the importance of knowledge of the sea state in many fields. Numerous examples and references on the use of these observations for scientific and operational applications are then given. ![]() The principles on which is based on the estimation of the sea surface parameters are first described, including the performance and limitations of each method. They are either specifically designed to monitor surface parameters or are used for their abilities to provide opportunistic measurements complementary to their primary purpose. Sensors used to monitor the sea-state parameters from space are mainly based on microwave techniques. The development of observations of sea state parameters from space dates back to the 1970s, with a significant increase in the number and diversity of space missions since the 1990s. This review paper reports on the state-of-the-art concerning observations of surface winds, waves, and currents from space and their use for scientific research and subsequent applications.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |