Improved product quality in WAVE-TAC Copernicus Marine Service

In the frame of the second phase of the Copernicus Marine Service, starting in 2022, the WAVE Thematic Assembly Centre (TAC), a partnership between CLS and CNES, is responsible for the provision of a near-real-time wave service that started in July 2017. Near-real-time wave products derived from altimetry and SAR measurements are processed and distributed onto the Copernicus Marine Service catalogue.

This presentation will describe the existing products – along-track Level 3 and gridded Level 4 – and their applications such as near-real-time assimilation in wave forecasting systems, validation of wave hindcasts, etc.

In 2023, nadir data from SWOT mission and S6 were added to the constellation, enlarging the number of missions and techniques proposed in this TAC.

R&D work with internal users show that improving nadir data resolution near cost to 5Hz data enlarge the observability of coastal zones and high variability areas.

The product quality from CFOSAT mission dedicated to wave observation get better and better, with non wave signal filtering and a wider observability of wavelength between 30m and 1000m.

Working on the complementarity of observation between the different missions, Sentinel1, altimetry, CFOSAT and now SWOT appears as the new challenge.

The gridded Level-4 SWH and Spectral product directly benefit from the merging of information for NRT products.