Quantitative evaluation of mesoscale eddies in the North   Atlantic using satellite altimetry and ocean reanalyses

Mauriello, Paolo; Smith, Gregory C.; Storto, Andrea; Yang, Chunxue

doi:10.5194/os-22-2863-2026

Articles | Volume 22, issue 5

https://doi.org/10.5194/os-22-2863-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Special issue:

Evaluation of ocean reanalyses to meet users’ needs

https://doi.org/10.5194/os-22-2863-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 22, issue 5

Research article

|

24 Sep 2026

Research article |

| 24 Sep 2026

Quantitative evaluation of mesoscale eddies in the North Atlantic using satellite altimetry and ocean reanalyses

Paolo Mauriello, Gregory C. Smith, Andrea Storto, and Chunxue Yang

Data sets

Global Ocean Gridded L4 Sea Surface Heights and Derived Variables Reprocessed 1993-Ongoing (SEALEVEL_GLO_PHY_L4_MY_008_047) CLS https://doi.org/10.48670/moi-00148

Experimental Multimission Gridded (MIOST with SWOT) Level-4 Sea Surface Heights and Velocities, version 2.0.1 CNES and CLS https://doi.org/10.24400/527896/A01-2025.001

Global Ocean Physics Reanalysis (GLOBAL_MULTIYEAR_PHY_001_030) Mercator Ocean International https://doi.org/10.48670/moi-00021

Global Ocean Ensemble Physics Reanalysis (GLOBAL_MULTIYEAR_PHY_ENS_001_031) Mercator Ocean International https://doi.org/10.48670/moi-00024

Model code and software

Quantitative evaluation of mesoscale eddies in the North Atlantic: custom analysis scripts Paolo Mauriello et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22814699

Short summary

This article evaluates two ocean reanalyses with spatial resolutions of 1/4° and 1/12° by comparing them with two satellite observation products, both at 1/8° resolution. The results show the added value of higher model resolution for representing mesoscale eddies and highlight the value of wide-swath satellite altimetry for model verification in the North Atlantic.