Fine scales structures of the Abrolhos Bank circulation from SWOT data early results

In the frame of the SWOT satellite cal/val initiative in Brazil, the University Federal of Pernambuco ship Ciencias do Mar IV has performed successive survey in May and September 2023 over the Abrolhos Bank (17-20°S along the Brazilian coast). In situ measurements, as well as moored data have been collected, in order to be compared to SWOT sea surface height retrievals, but also Copernicus Marine Service operational products in quasi-real time. The objective of this work are two-fold. First characterize the coastal to open ocean continuum of ocean variability in this shallow area during the surveys, and second evaluate both the SWOT and operational oceanography products in providing realistic representation of the high frequency scales. The first results show the dominance of the tidal dynamics over the Banks, and the influence of the wind and the sea-state variability. However, the Brazil Current patterns and associated mesoscales features are well captured by satellite data and models. Further work will evaluate the benefit of SWOT short scale information to improve our understanding of meso to submesoscale interactions in the area.