The Xiamen Symposium on Marine Environmental Sciences

2027 Xiamen Symposium on Marine Environmental Sciences

January 12-15, 2027

Winter enhancement of finescale eddies in the global ocean
ID:991 Oral Presentation

2027-01-14 16:05 (China Standard Time)

Session:Session 9 - Ocean Dynamics in the SWOT Era: New Methods, Discoveries, Insights and Challenges

Abstract
Finescale eddies (FEs) with spatial scales smaller than 50 km play important roles in vertical material transport and energy cascades in the global ocean. However, due to the lack of high-resolution observations, seasonality of FEs is poorly understood. Although the sea surface heights (SSH with resolution of 2 km) measured by the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite mission are capable to detect FEs, it is difficult to clearly extract FEs from the SSH which also include internal waves with spatial scales similar to those of FEs. Here, we develop a FE identification method (FEI-Net) by integrating deep learning algorithm, SWOT data and SSH induced by coherent internal tides (main component of internal waves). Verification with in situ observations shows that this method can effectively extract FEs from SWOT data. We constructed a global FE dataset by applying FEI-Net to SWOT data between 2023-2025. The dataset shows that FEs are active in the western boundary current and the Antarctic Circumpolar Current region, and FEs in winter are significantly stronger than those in summer except the equatorial region. It is found that winter enhancement of FEs is mainly modulated by winter-enhanced mixed layer depth. This study revealed the seasonality of FEs from an observational perspective.
Speaker
Mingfang Miao Ocean University of China

Author
Mingfang Miao Ocean University of China

    Important Dates

    • Jan 30

      2026

      Session / Event proposals open

    • Mar 31

      2026

      Session / Event proposals close
      (Extended to April 7)

    • Apr 30

      2026

      Session acceptance notifications

    • Apr 30

      2026

      Abstract submissions & registration open

    • Jun 30

      2026

      Abstract submissions close
      (Extended to July 21)

    • Aug 31

      2026

      Abstract acceptance notifications

    • Sep 15

      2026

      Scientific program released

    • Oct 15

      2026

      Early bird registration closes

    • Jan 12–15

      2027

      XMAS 2027