Articles | Volume 22, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-22-1515-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-22-1515-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| Highlight paper
| 
13 May 2026
Research article | Highlight paper |
| 13 May 2026
| 13 May 2026
High-latitude eddy statistics from SWOT compared with in situ observations
Charly de Marez
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Laboratoire d'Océanographie Physique et Spatiale, Univ. Brest, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, IUEM, Plouzané, France
Arne Bendinger
Laboratoire d'Océanographie Physique et Spatiale, Univ. Brest, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, IUEM, Plouzané, France
Ahmad Fehmi Dilmahamod
GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, Kiel, Germany
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Editorial statement
The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) wideswath altimeter is providing unprecedented observations of the ocean surface, enabling characterisation of mesoscale eddies at high latitudes with a resolution fine enough to capture the relevant spatial scales. Eddies are smaller in high latitudes due to the change in the Coriolis parameter. The eddies in these latitudes are, however, important influencing deep-water formation, carbon uptake, and sea-ice melt. The paper shows that the new SWOT satellite enables robust, quantitative eddy detection in polar and subpolar oceans, opening the door to global eddy climatologies in areas previously inaccessible.
The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) wideswath altimeter is providing unprecedented...
Short summary
We use new observations from the Surface Water and Ocean Topography Mission (SWOT) satellite to reveal the structure of ocean eddies in the Labrador Sea at unprecedented resolution. By comparison with ship-based measurements, we show that SWOT reliably detects these features even at high latitudes, where conventional altimetry is limited. Our results provide the first detailed view of mesoscale eddies in the Labrador Sea and highlight SWOT's potential in polar regions.
We use new observations from the Surface Water and Ocean Topography...
