Published: 26 March 2021
The wind and ocean surface waves are key parameters affecting ocean / atmosphere exchanges, marine meteorology and upper layers of the ocean. More generally, sea-state parameters are essential variables of the climate system. They also have an impact on marine resources, off-shore economy and security, and coastal environments. To progress in the understanding of the ocean / atmosphere coupling, in its numerical modeling, as to further develop applications in oceanography, it is necessary to observe the wind and waves at a global scale. Altimeter satellite missions, in space since the 1990s, provide limited information on waves, while other satellite missions are dedicated to measuring winds over the global ocean. Since 2018, a new satellite called CFOSAT (China France Oceanography SATellite) is in orbit. Thanks to its original concept, it allows simultaneous description of wind and waves with details on ocean wave properties that were not previously accessible. This brings new perspectives to study ocean / atmosphere exchanges, improve wind and wave forecasting, study the impacts of climate change on the ocean surface. During this seminar, the spreaker will present a summary on wind and wave measurements from space and highlight the new contribution of the CFOSAT mission.
Danièle Hauser is a senior scientist with CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France). She develops her research at LATMOS (Laboratoire Atmosphère Milieux Observations Spatiales), a laboratory funded by CNRS, by “Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en Yvelines” and by “Sorbonne University” and located in the Paris area (France). She works on the physical processes taking place at the ocean surface, and more particularly on exchanges at the air/sea interface driven by wind and waves. She is an expert in developing new systems for ocean surface observations using remote sensing techniques. She is the Principal Investigator of the CFOSAT (China France Oceanography SATellite) mission which has been launched in 2018 and currently provides unique observations of surface wind and ocean waves. In recent years, she has also held various research management responsibilities, in particular she was director of LATMOS (2009-2013), as well as deputy scientific director at INSU (2014-2018).
Seminar was recorded on March 25, 2021
