Airborne observations of surface winds, waves and currents from meso to
submesoscales
Abstract
In this work we present a unique set of coincident and collocated high-
resolution observations of surface currents and directional properties
of surface waves collected from an airborne instrument, the Modular
Aerial Sensing System (MASS), collected off the coast of Southern
California. High-resolution observations of near surface current
profiles and shear are obtained using a new instrument, DoppVis, capable
of capturing horizontal spatial current variability down to 128m
resolution. This data set provides a unique opportunity to examine how
currents at scales ranging from 1-100 km modulate bulk (e.g. significant
wave height), directional and spectral properties of surface gravity
waves. Such observations are a step toward developing better
understanding of the underlying physics of submesoscale processes (e.g.
frontogenesis and frontal arrest) and the nature of transitions between
mesoscale and submesoscale dynamics.