The SMOS Mission: New Tool for Monitoring Key Elements of the Global Water Cycle Auteur(s) : Kerr, Yann H. Waldteufel, Philippe Wigneron, Jean-pierre Delwart, Steven Cabot, Francois Boutin, Jacqueline Escorihuela, Maria-jose Font, Jordi Éditeur(s) : IEEE Résumé : It is now well understood that data on soil moisture and sea surface salinity (SSS) are required to improve meteorological and climate predictions. These two quantities are not yet available globally or with adequate temporal or spatial sampling. It is recognized that a spaceborne L-band radiometer with a suitable antenna is the most promising way of fulfilling this gap. With these scientific objectives and technical solution at the heart of a proposed mission concept the European Space Agency (ESA) selected the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission as its second Earth Explorer Opportunity Mission. The development of the SMOS mission was led by ESA in collaboration with the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) in France and the Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnologico Industrial (CDTI) in Spain. SMOS carries a single payload, an L-Band 2-D interferometric radiometer operating in the 1400-1427-MHz protected band [1]. The instrument receives the radiation emitted from Earth's surface, which can then be related to the moisture content in the first few centimeters of soil over land, and to salinity in the surface waters of the oceans. SMOS will achieve an unprecedented maximum spatial resolution of 50 km at L-band over land (43 km on average over the field of view), providing multiangular dual polarized (or fully polarized) brightness temperatures over the globe. SMOS has a revisit time of less than 3 days so as to retrieve soil moisture and ocean salinity data, meeting the mission's science objectives. The caveat in relation to its sampling requirements is that SMOS will have a somewhat reduced sensitivity when compared to conventional radiometers. The SMOS satellite was launched successfully on November 2, 2009. Proceedings of the IEEE (0018-9219) (IEEE), 2010-05 , Vol. 98 , N. 5 , P. 666-687 Droits : 2010 IEEE – All Rights Reserved http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00004/11483/8065.pdf DOI:10.1109/JPROC.2010.2043032 http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00004/11483/ | Partager |
SMOS salinity in the subtropical north Atlantic salinity maximum: 1. Comparison with Aquarius and in situ salinity Auteur(s) : Hernandez, Olga Boutin, Jacqueline Kolodziejczyk, Nicolas Reverdin, Gilles Martin, Nicolas Gaillard, Fabienne Reul, Nicolas Vergely, J. L. Éditeur(s) : Amer Geophysical Union Résumé : Sea surface salinity (SSS) measured from space by the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission is validated in the subtropical North Atlantic Ocean. 39 transects of ships of opportunity equipped with thermosalinographs (TSG) crossed that region from 2010 to 2012, providing a large database of ground truth SSS. SMOS SSS is also compared to Aquarius SSS. Large seasonal biases remain in SMOS and Aquarius SSS. In order to look at the capability of satellite SSS to monitor spatial variability, especially at scales less than 300 km (not monitored with the Argo network), we first apply a monthly bias correction derived from satellite SSS and In Situ Analysis System (ISAS) SSS differences averaged over the studied region. Ship SSS averaged over 25 km is compared with satellite and ISAS SSS. Similar statistics are obtained for SMOS, Aquarius and ISAS products (root mean square error of about 0.15 and global correlation coefficient r of about 0.92). However, in the above statistics, SSS varies due to both large scale and mesoscale (here, for scales around 100 km) variability. In order to focus on mesoscale variability, we consider SSS anomalies with respect to a monthly climatology. SMOS SSS and Aquarius SSS anomalies are more significantly correlated (r > 0.5) to TSG SSS anomaly than ISAS. We show the effective gain of resolution and coverage provided by the satellite products over the interpolated in situ data. We also show the advantage of SMOS (r=0.57) over Aquarius (r=0.52) to reproduce SSS mesoscale features. Journal Of Geophysical Research-oceans (0148-0027) (Amer Geophysical Union), 2014-12 , Vol. 119 , N. 12 , P. 8878-8896 Droits : 2014. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved. http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00210/32150/34082.pdf DOI:10.1002/2013JC009610 http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00210/32150/ | Partager |
First Assessment of SMOS Data Over Open Ocean: Part II-Sea Surface Salinity Auteur(s) : Boutin, Jacqueline Martin, Nicolas Yin, Xiaobin Font, Jordi Reul, Nicolas Spurgeon, Paul Éditeur(s) : Ieee-inst Electrical Electronics Engineers Inc Résumé : We validate Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) sea surface salinity (SSS) retrieved during August 2010 from the European Space Agency SMOS processing. Biases appear close to land and ice and between ascending and descending orbits; they are linked to image reconstruction issues and instrument calibration and remain under study. We validate the SMOS SSS in conditions where these biases appear to be small. We compare SMOS and ARGO SSS over four regions far from land and ice using only ascending orbits. Four modelings of the impact of the wind on the sea surface emissivity have been tested. Results suggest that the L-band brightness temperature is not linearly related to the wind speed at high winds as expected in the presence of emissive foam, but that the foam effect is less than previously modeled. Given the large noise on individual SMOS measurements, a precision suitable for oceanographic studies can only be achieved after averaging SMOS SSS. Over selected regions and after mean bias removal, the precision on SSS retrieved from ascending orbits and averaged over 100 km $times$ 100 km and 10 days is between 0.3 and 0.5 pss far from land and sea ice borders. These results have been obtained with forward models not fitted to satellite L-band measurements, and image reconstruction and instrument calibration are expected to improve. Hence, we anticipate that deducing, from SMOS measurements, SSS maps at 200 km $times$ 200 km, 10 days resolution with an accuracy of 0.2 pss at a global scale is not out of reach. Ieee Transactions On Geoscience And Remote Sensing (0196-2892) (Ieee-inst Electrical Electronics Engineers Inc), 2012-05 , Vol. 50 , N. 5 , P. 1662-1675 Droits : 2012 IEEE http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00074/18557/16108.pdf DOI:10.1109/TGRS.2012.2184546 http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00074/18557/ | Partager |
Sea Surface Salinity Observations from Space with the SMOS Satellite: A New Means to Monitor the Marine Branch of the Water Cycle Auteur(s) : Reul, Nicolas Fournier, Severine Boutin, Jacqueline Hernandez, Olga Maes, Christophe Chapron, Bertrand Alory, Gael Quilfen, Yves Éditeur(s) : Springer Résumé : While it is well known that the ocean is one of the most important component of the climate system, with a heat capacity 1,100 times greater than the atmosphere, the ocean is also the primary reservoir for freshwater transport to the atmosphere and largest component of the global water cycle. Two new satellite sensors, the ESA Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) and the NASA Aquarius SAC-D missions, are now providing the first space-borne measurements of the sea surface salinity (SSS). In this paper, we present examples demonstrating how SMOS-derived SSS data are being used to better characterize key land–ocean and atmosphere–ocean interaction processes that occur within the marine hydrological cycle. In particular, SMOS with its ocean mapping capability provides observations across the world’s largest tropical ocean fresh pool regions, and we discuss from intraseasonal to interannual precipitation impacts as well as large-scale river runoff from the Amazon–Orinoco and Congo rivers and its offshore advection. Synergistic multi-satellite analyses of these new surface salinity data sets combined with sea surface temperature, dynamical height and currents from altimetry, surface wind, ocean color, rainfall estimates, and in situ observations are shown to yield new freshwater budget insight. Finally, SSS observations from the SMOS and Aquarius/SAC-D sensors are combined to examine the response of the upper ocean to tropical cyclone passage including the potential role that a freshwater-induced upper ocean barrier layer may play in modulating surface cooling and enthalpy flux in tropical cyclone track regions. Surveys In Geophysics (0169-3298) (Springer), 2014-05 , Vol. 35 , N. 3 , P. 681-722 Droits : Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013 http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00152/26334/24430.pdf DOI:10.1007/s10712-013-9244-0 http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00152/26334/ | Partager Voir aussi Sea surface salinity SMOS satellite Passive microwave remote sensing Oceanic freshwater cycle Télécharger |
SMOS: The Challenging Sea Surface Salinity Measurement From Space Auteur(s) : Font, Jordi Camps, Adriano Borges, Andres Martin-neira, Manuel Boutin, Jacqueline Reul, Nicolas Kerr, Yann H. Hahne, Achim Éditeur(s) : IEEE Résumé : Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity, European Space Agency, is the first satellite mission addressing the challenge of measuring sea surface salinity from space. It uses an L-band microwave interferometric radiometer with aperture synthesis (MIRAS) that generates brightness temperature images, from which both geophysical variables are computed. The retrieval of salinity requires very demanding performances of the instrument in terms of calibration and stability. This paper highlights the importance of ocean salinity for the Earth's water cycle and climate; provides a detailed description of the MIRAS instrument, its principles of operation, calibration, and image-reconstruction techniques; and presents the algorithmic approach implemented for the retrieval of salinity from MIRAS observations, as well as the expected accuracy of the obtained results. Proceedings of the IEEE (0018-9219) (IEEE), 2010-05 , Vol. 98 , N. 5 , P. 649-665 Droits : 2010 IEEE – All Rights Reserved http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00004/11482/8066.pdf DOI:10.1109/JPROC.2009.2033096 http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00004/11482/ | Partager |
Validation of Salinity Data from Surface Drifters Auteur(s) : Reverdin, Gilles Morisset, S. Boutin, Jacqueline Martin, Nicolas Sena-martins, M. Gaillard, Fabienne Blouch, P. Rolland, J. Éditeur(s) : Amer Meteorological Soc Résumé : Salinity measurements from 119 surface drifters in 2007-12 were assessed; 80% [Surface Velocity Program with a barometer with a salinity sensor (SVP-BS)] and 75% [SVP with salinity (SVP-S)] of the salinity data were found to be usable, after editing out some spikes. Sudden salinity jumps are found in drifter salinity records that are not always associated with temperature jumps, in particular in the wet tropics. A method is proposed to decide whether and how to correct those jumps, and the uncertainty in the correction applied. Northeast of South America, in a region influenced by the Amazon plume and fresh coastal water, drifter salinity is very variable, but a comparison with data from the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity satellite suggests that this variability is usually reasonable. The drifter salinity accuracy is then explored based on comparisons with data from Argo floats and from thermosalinographs (TSGs) of ships of opportunity. SVP-S/SVP-BS drifter records do not usually present significant biases within the first 6 months, but afterward biases sometimes need to be corrected (altogether, 16% of the SVP-BS records). Biases start earlier after 3 months for drifters not protected by antifouling paint. For the few drifters for which large corrections were applied to portions of the record, the accuracy cannot be proven to be better than 0.1 psu, and it cannot be proven to be better than 0.5 psu for data in the largest variability area off northeast South America. Elsewhere, after excluding portions of the records with suspicious salinity jumps or when large corrections were applied, the comparisons rule out average biases in individual drifter salinity record larger than 0.02 psu (midlatitudes) and 0.05 psu (tropics). Journal Of Atmospheric And Oceanic Technology (0739-0572) (Amer Meteorological Soc), 2014-04 , Vol. 31 , N. 4 , P. 967-983 Droits : 2014 American Meteorological Society http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00190/30095/28748.pdf DOI:10.1175/JTECH-D-13-00158.1 http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00190/30095/ | Partager |
Sea surface freshening inferred from SMOS and ARGO salinity: impact of rain Auteur(s) : Boutin, Jacqueline Martin, Nicolas Reverdin, Gilles Yin, Xiaoming Gaillard, Fabienne Éditeur(s) : Copernicus Gesellschaft Mbh Résumé : The sea surface salinity (SSS) measured from space by the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission has recently been revisited by the European Space Agency first campaign reprocessing. We show that, with respect to the previous version, biases close to land and ice greatly decrease. The accuracy of SMOS SSS averaged over 10 days, 100 x 100 km(2) in the open ocean and estimated by comparison to ARGO (Array for Real-Time Geostrophic Oceanography) SSS is on the order of 0.3-0.4 in tropical and subtropical regions and 0.5 in a cold region. The averaged negative SSS bias (-0.1) observed in the tropical Pacific Ocean between 5 degrees N and 15 degrees N, relatively to other regions, is suppressed when SMOS observations concomitant with rain events, as detected from SSM/Is (Special Sensor Microwave Imager) rain rates, are removed from the SMOS-ARGO comparisons. The SMOS freshening is linearly correlated to SSM/Is rain rate with a slope estimated to -0.14 mm(-1) h, after correction for rain atmospheric contribution. This tendency is the signature of the temporal SSS variability between the time of SMOS and ARGO measurements linked to rain variability and of the vertical salinity stratification between the first centimeter of the sea surface layer sampled by SMOS and the 5 m depth sampled by ARGO. However, given that the whole set of collocations includes situations with ARGO measurements concomitant with rain events collocated with SMOS measurements under no rain, the mean -0.1 bias and the negative skewness of the statistical distribution of SMOS minus ARGO SSS difference are very likely the mean signature of the vertical salinity stratification. In the future, the analysis of ongoing in situ salinity measurements in the top 50 cm of the sea surface and of Aquarius satellite SSS are expected to provide complementary information about the sea surface salinity stratification. Ocean Science (1812-0784) (Copernicus Gesellschaft Mbh), 2013 , Vol. 9 , N. 1 , P. 183-192 Droits : Author(s) 2013. CC Attribution 3.0 License. http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00139/25073/23161.pdf DOI:10.5194/os-9-183-2013 http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00139/25073/ | Partager |