To make the most successful use of the Surface Water and Ocean Topography satellite (SWOT), NASA and the French Space Agency have joined forces. Together, they are watching amazing underwater landscapes that are rarely seen. As an example, this pioneering approach offers a holistic vision of submesoscale dynamics. In particular, it studies sealing phenomena such as internal waves and eddies, which are commonly observed in the Indian, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, as well as the Mediterranean Sea.
SWOT’s capabilities will allow oceanographers to study vertical circulations. Then they were able to research movements of Wilds up 20-45 feet (6-14m) per day. Jinbo Wang, an oceanographer at Texas A&M University, emphasized that “force is the fundamental quantity driving fluid motion,” highlighting the satellite’s role in understanding how these forces influence ocean behavior.
Lee Fu, the SWOT project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), explained that most conventional ocean models focus in on big features. These models mostly focus on eddies that are hundreds of miles long. With SWOT’s cutting-edge technology, researchers can study the smaller submesoscale features, giving them a closer look at the ocean’s complex dynamics.
Marine physicist Matthew Archer, an oceanographer at JPL, played a strategic role in this discovery. He estimated that the energy contained in one single wave seen by SWOT was at least double that of an average internal tide in the area. This important discovery points to the urgent need to understand even smaller features to understand larger oceanic processes.
An article published in the journal Nature investigates some of these submesoscale ocean dynamics captured by SWOT. Matthew Archer and his team performed the research. Beyond effectively mapping out California’s water, this study represents an incredible new capacity made possible by SWOT. It launches a new innovative animation that showcases tiny ocean features based on SWOT’s sea surface height data. This animation vividly depicts internal waves and eddies, showcasing the satellite’s potential for revealing previously hidden dynamics within the oceans.
Nadya Vinogradova Shiffer, SWOT program scientist at NASA Headquarters, commented on the significance of these submesoscale features in understanding overall ocean dynamics. She noted that developing the SWOT observations would help develop better models. These extended models will increase our ability to predict the role that the ocean plays in climate change.
The DOI for the Nature study is 10.1038/s41586-025-08722-8. The on-the-ground research continues and the development of technology is moving lightning fast. Regardless, the knowledge derived from SWOT would undoubtedly contribute to a better understanding of our global ocean systems.