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Satellite-based Time-Series of Sea Surface Salinity designed for Ocean and Climate Studies
  • +25
  • Jacqueline Boutin,
  • Nicolas Reul,
  • Julia Köhler,
  • Adrien C.H. Martin,
  • Rafael Catany,
  • Sebastien Guimbard,
  • Frederic Rouffi,
  • Jean-Luc Vergely,
  • Manuel Arias,
  • Meriem Chakroun,
  • Giovanni Corato,
  • Victor Esttella-Perez,
  • Audrey Emilie Alice Hasson,
  • Simon A. Josey,
  • Dimitry Khvorostyanov,
  • Nicolas Kolodziejczyk,
  • Juliette Mignot,
  • Léa Olivier,
  • Gilles Reverdin,
  • Detlef Stammer,
  • Alexandre Supply,
  • Clovis Thouvenin-Masson,
  • Antonio Turiel,
  • Paolo Cipollini,
  • Craig Donlon,
  • Roberto Sabia,
  • Susanne Mecklenburg,
  • Jerome Vialard
Jacqueline Boutin
French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS)

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Nicolas Reul
IFREMER, IFREMER
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Julia Köhler
Institute of Oceanography, University Hamburg, Institute of Oceanography, University Hamburg
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Adrien C.H. Martin
National Oceanography Centre, National Oceanography Centre
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Rafael Catany
Argans Ltd, Argans Ltd
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Sebastien Guimbard
Ocean Scope, Ocean Scope
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Frederic Rouffi
ACRI-st, ACRI-st
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Jean-Luc Vergely
ACRI-st, ACRI-st
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Manuel Arias
Argans Ltd, Argans Ltd
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Meriem Chakroun
ACRI-st, ACRI-st
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Giovanni Corato
Adwaiseo, Adwaiseo
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Victor Esttella-Perez
LOCEAN, LOCEAN
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Audrey Emilie Alice Hasson
Sorbonne Universités (UPMC, University of Paris 6)-CNRS-IRD-MNHN, Sorbonne Universités (UPMC, University of Paris 6)-CNRS-IRD-MNHN
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Simon A. Josey
National Oceanography Centre, National Oceanography Centre
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Dimitry Khvorostyanov
LOCEAN, LOCEAN
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Nicolas Kolodziejczyk
LOPS, University of Brest, LOPS, University of Brest
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Juliette Mignot
LOCEAN, LOCEAN
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Léa Olivier
LOCEAN, LOCEAN
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Gilles Reverdin
Sorbonne Université, CNRS/IRD/MNHN, LOCEAN-IPSL, Sorbonne Université, CNRS/IRD/MNHN, LOCEAN-IPSL
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Detlef Stammer
University Hamburg, Centrum für Erdsystemforschung und Nachhaltigkeit (CEN), University Hamburg, Centrum für Erdsystemforschung und Nachhaltigkeit (CEN)
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Alexandre Supply
Sorbonne Université, CNRS/IRD/MNHN, LOCEAN-IPSL, Sorbonne Université, CNRS/IRD/MNHN, LOCEAN-IPSL
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Clovis Thouvenin-Masson
LOCEAN, LOCEAN
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Antonio Turiel
Institut de Ciències del Mar (CSIC), Institut de Ciències del Mar (CSIC)
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Paolo Cipollini
European Space Agency, European Space Agency
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Craig Donlon
European Space Agency, European Space Agency
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Roberto Sabia
European Space Agency, European Space Agency
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Susanne Mecklenburg
European Space Agency, European Space Agency
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Jerome Vialard
LOCEAN
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Abstract

Sea Surface Salinity (SSS) is an Essential Ocean and Climate Variable, which is increasingly used as part of climate studies. SSS measurements are available from three satellite missions, SMOS, Aquarius and SMAP, each with very different instrument features leading to specific measurement characteristics. The Climate Change Initiative Salinity project (CCI+SSS) aims to produce SSS Climate Data Record (CDR) to include satellite measurements, based on well-established user needs. To generate a homogeneous CDR, instrumental differences are carefully controlled by analysing SSS discrepancies, then adjusted based on in-depth analysis of the measurements themselves together with independent reference data. However, no spatial smoothing or temporal relaxation to reference data is applied in order to maintain the variability contained in the original data set. SSS CCI fields are well suited for monitoring weekly to interannual variability from the ocean basin scale to the large mesoscale. Thus, they depict that over the 2010-2019 decade, seasonal have varied greatly from year to year, sometimes by more than +/-0.4 over large regions. When monthly SSS CCI are compared with in situ Argo salinities, the robust standard deviation of their difference, at global scale, is 0.15, while r2 is 0.97. This high level of performance highlights the benefit of the SSS CCI merging approach compared to individual satellite SSS fields alone. The correlation with independent ship SSS (r2>0.9) further highlights the excellent performance of the data set. SSS CCI data are freely available and will be updated and extended in the future as more satellite data become available.
Nov 2021Published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans volume 126 issue 11. 10.1029/2021JC017676