Satellite-based T/S Diagrams and Surface Ocean Water Masses

Abstract

Temperature-versus-Salinity (T/S) diagrams are characteristic property-versus-property plots traditionally used to emphasize the mutual relationships between these two variables with the aim of identifying and tracing water masses. Intensively used in oceanography, they basically capitalize on the broad collection of spatial and temporal in-situ measurements, principally from vertical profiles. In contrast, the purpose of this study is to rely on satellite measurements, which, despite the accuracy of the representation, benefit from synopticity and frequent temporal coverage. This study has become feasible thanks to recent satellite missions measuring Sea Surface Salinity (SSS), allowing derivation of spaceborne T/S diagrams through the concurrent availability of Sea Surface Temperature (SST) estimations. This study inherently relates to the horizontal surface section of T/S diagrams, which poses some challenges in interpreting results [...]