With present-day techniques, ocean surface currents are poorly known near the Equator and globally for spatial scales under 200 km and timescales under 30 d. Wide-swath radar Doppler measurements are an alternative technique. Such direct surface current measurements are, however, affected by platform motions and waves. These contributions are analyzed in data collected during the DRIFT4SKIM airborne and in situ experiment, demonstrating the possibility of measuring currents from space globally.

Mesoscale eddies are large bodies of swirling water, which generally refer to ocean signals with spatial scales of tens to hundreds of kilometers and temporal scales of days to months. This study identified events of splitting and merging of mesoscale eddies in the global ocean based on sea level height data. Multicore structures represent an intermediate stage in the process of eddy evolution, similar to the generation of multiple nuclei in a cell as a preparatory phase for cell division.

The Sea surface KInematics Multiscale (SKIM) monitoring mission is a proposal for a future satellite that is designed to measure ocean currents and waves. Using a Doppler radar, the accurate measurement of currents requires the removal of the mean velocity due to ocean wave motions. This paper describes the main processing steps needed to produce currents and wave data from the radar measurements. With this technique, SKIM can provide unprecedented coverage and resolution, over the global ocean.

Oceanic eddies are closed circulation features that transport water between regions, taking part in the ocean's heat and salt balance. We perform a comparative eddy census in the East Australian, Agulhas and Brazil currents. We find that eddy propagation in all systems is steered by the local mean flow and bathymetry. Also, eddies present a geographic segregation according to size. Investigating eddy propagation helps us to better understand their effect in local mixing.