Can We Retrieve Internal Soliton Amplitudes in the Ocean with Sar Altimetry? What Would This Be Good For?

In this paper we demonstrate, for the first time that, standard Level 2 SRAL altimeter data from Sentinel-3 can be used to estimate Internal Solitary Wave (ISW) amplitudes and surface velocities. A two-layer model is assumed based on the hydrostatic limit. The method is applied to Sentinel-3B data of the Banda Sea, where powerful ISWs emanate from a sill in the Ombai Strait in between Alor and Atauro Islands, one of the major passages of the Indonesian Through Flow. There, mean square slopes ( ) of surface waves are calculated from the dual-band altimeter on board Sentinel-3, showing strong variations across ISW crests that are easily detected in the SRAL. Sea Level Anomalies, appear to be reliable and consistent with expected sea level elevations owing to the passage of solitons of depression (i.e., with isopycnals displaced downwards). Fifteen cycles of Sentinel-3B data were analyzed in the study region.