Remote Sensed SSS Products in the Context of the SPURS-MIDAS Campaign
Guimbard, Sebastien; Umbert, Marta; Turiel, Antonio; Font, Jordi
Institut de Ciencies del Mar - CSIC, SPAIN

As a contribution to the SPURS experiment (Salinity Processes in the Upper ocean Regional Study), the SPURS-MIDAS cruise (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 16 March 2013 - Ponta Delgada, Acores 12 April) is aimed at understanding the processes that drive the upper ocean dynamics and the role that salinity plays on them in the area of maximum salinity in the center of the North Atlantic subtropical gyre. This area has the advantage of being quite stable and at the same time displaying the highest salinity values worldwide in open oceans, so that it provides a good opportunity for both SMOS (ESA) and Aquarius (NASA) sea surface salinity (SSS) validation.
The main role of the cruise is to run first a general survey for mesoscale mapping of the area by means of TSG, ADCP and undulating CTD (SeaSoar). On the same time, around 50 surface salinity drifters will be deployed. After this initial survey, submesoscale high-resolution specific samplings will be performed, as well as turbulence measurements (ASIP profiler) and a combined CTD stations-SeaSoar sampling for mixed-layer depth evolution studies.
The results of the SPURS-MIDAS experiment will be used to compare/validate L3 (optimal interpolated and binned) SMOS and Aquarius products at different space/time scales. L4 BEC singularity-based fusion products and a new combination of SMOS/Aquarius L3 maps will be also investigated. This new product is based on spatial optimization of the error matrix.