Impact of infragravity waves on sea surface elevation observed by wide-swath altimeter

Zhang Lei; Liu Guoqiang; He Yijun; William Perrie

doi:10.3969/j.issn.0253-4193.2019.06.010

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Zhang Lei, Liu Guoqiang, He Yijun, William Perrie. Impact of infragravity waves on sea surface elevation observed by wide-swath altimeter[J]. Haiyang Xuebao, 2019, 41(6): 103-113. doi: 10.3969/j.issn.0253-4193.2019.06.010

Citation:

Zhang Lei, Liu Guoqiang, He Yijun, William Perrie. Impact of infragravity waves on sea surface elevation observed by wide-swath altimeter[J]. Haiyang Xuebao, 2019, 41(6): 103-113. doi: 10.3969/j.issn.0253-4193.2019.06.010

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Impact of infragravity waves on sea surface elevation observed by wide-swath altimeter

doi: 10.3969/j.issn.0253-4193.2019.06.010

1.
School of Marine Science, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, China;Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University, Halifax B3H 4R2, Canada
2.
School of Marine Science, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, China;Department of Engineering Mathematics and Internetworking, Dalhousie University, Halifax B3H 4R2, Canada
3.
School of Marine Science, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, China
4.
Department of Engineering Mathematics and Internetworking, Dalhousie University, Halifax B3H 4R2, Canada;Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University, Halifax B3H 4R2, Canada;Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth B2Y 4A2, Canada

Received Date: 2018-03-09
Rev Recd Date: 2018-06-08

Abstract

Abstract

Infragravity waves (IGWs) are surface gravity waves with low frequency (0.005-0.05 Hz) and long wavelength (about 10 km). The sea surface elevation caused by IGWs can be captured by the future wide-swath altimeter Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT). Thus, IGWs will be an important source of error, when using the observed sea surface elevation from SWOT to retrieve meso-and submeso-scale ocean circulation. Based on the spatial and temporal distribution of the global IGWs, the sea surface elevation caused by IGWs is estimated in the northeastern Pacific and northwestern Europe shelf with high IGW energy. Compared with the orbit noise simulated by SWOT Simulator (±5 cm), the IGW "noise" is quantitatively analyzed for the first time. We find that the sea surface elevation of the order of 1 cm contributed by IGWs is an important source of error that can not be ignored in the surface elevation measurements of SWOT. On the northwestern Europe continental shelf, the contribution of winter IGWs to sea surface elevation has reached 25% of the noise level requirement of SWOT. While, for the US west coast where the continental shelf is narrow, IGWs are generated along shorelines and quickly spread into the deep ocean, causing significant noise effects on a broader area, about 15% of the noise level requirement of SWOT.
- infragravity waves,
- wide-swath altimeter,
- submeso-scale ocean circulation

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