Marine Gravity Field Modeling Using SWOT Altimetry Data in South China Sea
The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite delivers an unprecedented spatial resolution, offering new opportunities for advanced marine gravity field modeling. This study investigates the application of SWOT observational data by computing deflections of the vertical (DOVs) using the ei...
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Journal of Marine Science and Engineering |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/13/5/827 |
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| Summary: | The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite delivers an unprecedented spatial resolution, offering new opportunities for advanced marine gravity field modeling. This study investigates the application of SWOT observational data by computing deflections of the vertical (DOVs) using the eight-directional geoid gradient method, followed by gravity field inversion through the inverse Vening–Meinesz (IVM) formula. Experimental results in the South China Sea region demonstrate that SWOT DOVs, based on 19 observation cycles, achieved accuracies of 0.86 arcseconds for the east–west component <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi>η</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula> and 0.77 arcseconds for the north–south component <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi>ξ</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula>. The marine gravity field inversion accuracy reached 4.97 mGal, comparable to the multi-source altimetry-derived model SIO_v32.1. Further analysis reveals that the primary contributions of SWOT DOVs are observed within the 3.5–20 km wavelength band, with cross-track systematic errors identified as the key factor influencing both DOV calculations and gravity anomaly inversion. Additionally, extending the SWOT observation period enhances DOV accuracy, particularly for the <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi>η</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula>. These findings highlight the potential of SWOT data in advancing high-resolution marine gravity field modeling. |
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| ISSN: | 2077-1312 |