Imaging small-scale ocean dynamics at interfaces of the Earth System with the SeaSTAR Earth Explorer 11 mission candidate

SeaSTAR is a satellite mission candidate for ESA Earth Explorer 11 that proposes to measure small-scale ocean dynamics below 10 km at ocean/atmosphere/land/ice interfaces of the Earth System. SeaSTAR products consist of high-resolution images of total surface current vectors and wind vectors of unprecedented resolution (1 km) and accuracy over a wide swath. A key objective of SeaSTAR is to characterize, for the first time, the magnitude, spatial structure, regional distribution and temporal variability of upper ocean dynamics on daily, seasonal and multi-annual time scales, with particular focus on coastal seas, shelf seas and Marginal Ice Zone boundaries. The mission addresses an urgent need for new measurements of small-scale ocean processes to help understand and model their impacts on air-sea interactions, horizontal water pathways, vertical mixing and marine productivity. High-resolution imaging of total currents with collocated wind and waves data would bring new means of validating and developing models to improve operational forecasts and climate projections. The presentation will outline the key elements of the mission and the latest status of the mission concept evolution, with the technical solutions and trade-offs that are being considered. We will also present the latest results of the SEASTARex airborne campaign in Iroise Sea using the OSCAR (Ocean Surface Current Airborne Radar) demonstrator.