近日，加州理工学院Jinbo Wang团队通过宽带卫星测高揭示了全球亚中尺度海洋动力学。该项研究成果发表在2025年4月16日出版的《自然》杂志上。

近几十年来，高分辨率数值模型和区域观测越来越强调海洋亚中尺度（1-100公里）过程及其对地球气候系统的重大影响。然而，从未从全球角度观察到与这些过程相关的动力学和能量，包括亚中层涡旋和非线性内波。这些亚中尺度过程在哪里、何时以及在多大程度上对大规模海洋环流和气候系统做出了贡献？

研究组展示了最近发射的地表水和海洋地形（SWOT）卫星的数据，这些数据不仅证实了亚中尺度涡旋和波浪的特征，还表明它们对海洋能量学、海洋生态系统、大气天气和地球气候系统的潜在影响比预期的要大得多。SWOT开创了全球海洋观测的新时代，将亚中尺度海洋动力学作为地球气候系统的关键要素。

附：英文原文

Title: Wide-swath satellite altimetry unveils global submesoscale ocean dynamics

Author: Archer, Matthew, Wang, Jinbo, Klein, Patrice, Dibarboure, Gerald, Fu, Lee-Lueng

Issue&Volume: 2025-04-16

Abstract: Ocean submesoscale (1–100km) processes and their substantial impact on Earth’s climate system have been increasingly emphasized in recent decades by high-resolution numerical models and regional observations1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11. However, the dynamics and energy associated with these processes, including submesoscale eddies and nonlinear internal waves, have never been observed from a global perspective. Where, when and how much do these submesoscale processes contribute to the large-scale ocean circulation and climate system Here we show data from the recently launched Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite12 that not only confirm the characteristics of submesoscale eddies and waves but also suggest that their potential impacts on ocean energetics, the marine ecosystem, atmospheric weather and Earth’s climate system are much larger than anticipated. SWOT ushers in a new era of global ocean observing, placing submesoscale ocean dynamics as a critical element of the Earth’s climate system.

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-08722-8

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08722-8