Mobile version

News

13.05.2026 11:11 Age: 4 hrs

Swot reveals fine-scale eddies efficiency in modulating ocean interior turbulence

Category: News of the Swot mission

Swot reveals that fine-scale eddies are as efficient as larger and more energetic structures in modulating turbulence in the ocean interior

Swot captures small structures previously elusive to nadir altimetry. (a) Swot vorticity derived from the SSH using the geostrophic assumption between 20 and 24 August 2023. (b) Gridded nadir altimetry geostrophic vorticity on 22 August 2023. Note the different color scales. from [Rolland et al. 2026].

Swot captures small structures previously elusive to nadir altimetry. (a) Swot vorticity derived from the SSH using the geostrophic assumption between 20 and 24 August 2023. (b) Gridded nadir altimetry geostrophic vorticity on 22 August 2023. Note the different color scales. from [Rolland et al. 2026].

Using data collected during Swot Calval phase, a study published in "Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans" shows that fine-scale eddies (less than 100 km) in the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea are as efficient as large and intense structures found in western boundary currents and the Antarctic Circumpolar Current system in transferring wind energy into the ocean interior. These findings might apply to the rest of the global ocean characterized by low energy and thus provide a new challenge to parameterize this process in Earth system models.

Reference: Rolland, R., Bouruet-Aubertot, P., Cuypers, Y., Bosse, A., Petrenko, A., Maytie, T., et al. (2026). Near-inertial wave trapping inside a fine-scale anticyclonic eddy during the BioSWOT-Med 2023 cruise: Turbulence and energy flux. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 131, e2025JC022984. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025JC022984

See the full story on Swot ADaC web site:
Publication: Swot reveals that fine-scale eddies are as efficient as larger and more energetic structures in modulating turbulence in the ocean interior

 

<- Back to: Front-page news
EnglishFrançais
Rss feedsContactPartnersLexiconLegal noticePersonal Data Protection PolicyMobile
You must enable cookies in your browser preferences to save the modifications
You are using an older version of Internet Explorer, please update to take full advantage of Aviso+ features

Customize the home page

View all widgets
Reduce display
Public profile
User profile

Select/Deselect widgets

Discover AVISO+

Customizable home, reading tools, products search guide, etc.. Discover step by step the features of the new site AVISO+.

Customizable homepage

This home page is composed of blocks called "widgets".

Rearrange the blocks with a "Click & Drop".

Hide a widget with the cross at the top right. Reset or add a widget with the "wrench" icon. The "User" and "Public" profiles offer a predefined organization.

All the modifications are automatically saved as cookies on your machine so as to enable you to have your own specific AVISO+.

Reading tools

Ease your reading by choosing the page background colour (black/white) and/or by modifying the font size.

Browsing menu and breadcrum trail

To ease your browsing through AVISO+, you can use at any time the main banner items with the interactive submenus or use the browsing menu on the left side of the screen (it is open by default). For more readiness of the page contents, you can fold and unfold the browsing menu by clicking on the tab. At any time you can know where you are thanks to the browsing menu or the breadcrum at the top of the page.

Products search guide

The first submenu of the "Data" banner item leads you to a new search form enabling you to find quickier the product that suits your needs. The list of results is updated according to your selection criteria.

AVISO+ Multimedia

The first submenu of the "Multimedia" banner item leads you to AVISO+ collections of images and videos linked to altimetry and its applications. Have a nice visit!