Fine-scale eddies revealed by the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) Mission

Yang, Zhibin, Jing, Zhao, Zhai, Xiaoming and Ni, Qinbiao (2026) Fine-scale eddies revealed by the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) Mission. Remote Sensing. ISSN 2072-4292 (In Press)

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Abstract

Utilizing two-dimensional sea level anomalies from the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) wide-swath altimeter, we conduct a global census of fine-scale eddies (with equivalent radii < 30 km) that are beyond the resolution capacity of traditional altimeters. We find that these eddies are concentrated in regions with energetic mesoscale currents such as western boundary current extensions, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and prominent interior frontal zones. While these eddies are smaller than classical mesoscale eddies (O(100) km), they exhibit dynamics distinct from the mesoscale, including a pronounced winter peak in occurrence frequency and a striking dominance of cyclonic over anticyclonic polarities. A global composite reveals a net enhancing effect of these fine-scale eddies on surface chlorophyll‑a (approximately +7% within eddy cores relative to surrounding waters). Our findings shed light on the dynamical characteristics and surface chlorophyll-a signatures of fine-scale ocean eddies, necessitating their adequate representation in next‑generation ocean models.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Data Availability Statement: All data used in this study are publicly accessible. The SWOT data can be obtained from https://tdsodatis.aviso.altimetry.fr/thredds/catalog/dataset-l3-swot-karin-na-dir-validated/l3_lr_ssh/v2_0_1/Expert/catalog.html. The CMEMS data can be obtained from https://data.marine.copernicus.eu/products. The MODIS data can be obtained from https://oceandata.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/directdataaccess/. The eddy automatic detection code is public and can be downloaded from https://zenodo.org/records/18399658. The WOA18 data can be obtained from https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/world-ocean-atlas.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	swot,fine-scale eddies,altimeter,chlorophyll-a
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Centre for Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	04 Aug 2026 11:53
Last Modified:	05 Aug 2026 13:47
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/103969
DOI:

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