Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2025-212
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2025-212
30 Apr 2025
 | 30 Apr 2025
Status: this preprint is currently under review for the journal ESSD.

Satellite-based regional Sea Surface Salinity maps for enhanced understanding of freshwater fluxes in the Southern Ocean

Verónica González-Gambau, Estrella Olmedo, Aina García-Espriu, Cristina González-Haro, Antonio Turiel, Carolina Gabarró, Alessandro Silvano, Aditya Narayanan, Alberto Naveira-Garabato, Rafael Catany, Nina Hoareau, Marta Umbert, Giuseppe Aulicino, Yuri Cotroneo, Roberto Sabia, and Diego Fernández-Prieto

Abstract. This paper presents newly developed Sea Surface Salinity (SSS) products for the Southern Ocean (SO), derived from SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) measurements by the Barcelona Expert Center (BEC). The primary challenges in retrieving SSS from L-band brightness temperature (TB) measurements in the Southern Ocean include degraded sensitivity in cold waters, radiometric signal contamination near sea ice edges and low variability in SSS across the region. To address these challenges, significant improvements were made to the retrieval algorithms. The BEC SO SSS product v1.0 delivers 9-day SSS maps on a 25 km EASE-SL grid, generated daily. The time series spans from February 1, 2011, to March 31, 2023, with spatial coverage south of 30° S (https://doi.org/10.20350/digitalCSIC/15493).

The product shows high accuracy farther than 150 km from sea ice edges, with nearly zero bias and a standard deviation of 0.22 (compared to marine mammal data) and 0.25 (compared to TSG data from research vessels). Larger errors are observed within 150 km from the ice edges, due to residual sea-ice contamination and sampling-related errors in these dynamic areas. The product effectively captures seasonal and interannual variability, in line with the SOSE regional model. Although differences between satellite-derived and in situ salinity are more pronounced in these regions, the satellite product successfully reproduces the dynamics near ice edges.

This product will significantly contribute to the understanding of processes influenced by upper-ocean salinity, including ice formation and melt, the reduction of Antarctic sea ice extent, and the opening of offshore polynyas.

Publisher's note: Copernicus Publications remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims made in the text, published maps, institutional affiliations, or any other geographical representation in this preprint. The responsibility to include appropriate place names lies with the authors.
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Verónica González-Gambau, Estrella Olmedo, Aina García-Espriu, Cristina González-Haro, Antonio Turiel, Carolina Gabarró, Alessandro Silvano, Aditya Narayanan, Alberto Naveira-Garabato, Rafael Catany, Nina Hoareau, Marta Umbert, Giuseppe Aulicino, Yuri Cotroneo, Roberto Sabia, and Diego Fernández-Prieto

Status: open (until 06 Jun 2025)

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Verónica González-Gambau, Estrella Olmedo, Aina García-Espriu, Cristina González-Haro, Antonio Turiel, Carolina Gabarró, Alessandro Silvano, Aditya Narayanan, Alberto Naveira-Garabato, Rafael Catany, Nina Hoareau, Marta Umbert, Giuseppe Aulicino, Yuri Cotroneo, Roberto Sabia, and Diego Fernández-Prieto

Data sets

BEC Southern Ocean SSS Product Description (V.1.0) Verónica González Gambau et al. https://doi.org/10.20350/digitalCSIC/15493

Verónica González-Gambau, Estrella Olmedo, Aina García-Espriu, Cristina González-Haro, Antonio Turiel, Carolina Gabarró, Alessandro Silvano, Aditya Narayanan, Alberto Naveira-Garabato, Rafael Catany, Nina Hoareau, Marta Umbert, Giuseppe Aulicino, Yuri Cotroneo, Roberto Sabia, and Diego Fernández-Prieto

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Short summary
This paper introduces a new Sea Surface Salinity product for the Southern Ocean, based on SMOS data and developed by the Barcelona Expert Center. It offers 9-day maps on a 25 km EASE-SL grid, from 2011 to 2023, covering areas south of 30° S. The product is accurate beyond 150 km from sea ice, with nearly zero bias and a ~0.22 STD. It tracks well seasonal and interannual changes and will contribute to the understanding of processes influenced by upper-ocean salinity, including ice formation/melt.
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