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The detection, monitoring, and forecasting of sea-ice conditions, including their extremes, is very important for ship navigation and offshore activities, and for monitoring of sea-ice processes and trends. We summarize here recent advances in the monitoring of sea-ice conditions and their extremes from satellite data as well as the development of sea-ice seasonal forecasting capabilities. Our results are the outcome of the three-year (2015–2018) SPICES (Space-borne Observations for Detecting and Forecasting Sea-Ice Cover Extremes) project funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme. New SPICES sea-ice products include pancake ice thickness and degree of ice ridging based on synthetic aperture radar imagery, Arctic sea-ice volume and export derived from multisensor satellite data, and melt pond fraction and sea-ice concentration using Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) radiometer data. Forecasts of July sea-ice conditions from initial conditions in May showed substantial improvement in some Arctic regions after adding sea-ice thickness (SIT) data to the model initialization. The SIT initialization also improved seasonal forecasts for years with extremely low summer sea-ice extent. New SPICES sea-ice products have a demonstrable level of maturity, and with a reasonable amount of further work they can be integrated into various operational sea-ice services. International audience

© 2018 Elsevier B.V. Data from sensors incorporated into mobile devices, such as networked navigational sensors, can be used to capture detailed environmental information. We describe here a workflow and framework for using sensors on boats to construct unique new datasets of underwater topography (bathymetry). Starting with a large number of measurements of position, depth, etc., obtained from such an Internet of Floating Things, we illustrate how, with a specialized protocol, data can be communicated to cloud resources, even when using delayed, intermittent, or disconnected networks. We then propose a method for automatic sensor calibration based on a novel reputation approach. Sampled depth data are interpolated efficiently on a cloud computing platform in order to provide a continuously updated bathymetric database. Our prototype implementation uses the FACE-IT Galaxy workflow engine to manage network communication and exploits the computational power of GPGPUs in a virtualized cloud environment, working with a CUDA-parallel algorithm, for efficient data processing. We report on an initial evaluation involving data from a sailing vessel in Italian coastal waters.

AbstractThe depth of the upper ocean mixed layer provides fundamental information on the amount of seawater that directly interacts with the atmosphere. Its space‐time variability modulates water mass formation and carbon sequestration processes related to both the physical and biological pumps. These processes are particularly relevant in the Southern Ocean, where surface mixed‐layer depth estimates are generally obtained either as climatological fields derived from in situ observations or through numerical simulations. Here we demonstrate that weekly observation‐based reconstructions can be used to describe the variations of the mixed‐layer depth in the upper ocean over a range of space and time scales. We compare and validate four different products obtained by combining satellite measurements of the sea surface temperature, salinity, and dynamic topography and in situ Argo profiles. We also compute an ensemble mean and use the corresponding spread to estimate mixed‐layer depth uncertainties and to identify the more reliable products. The analysis points out the advantage of synergistic approaches that include in input the sea surface salinity observations obtained through a multivariate optimal interpolation. Corresponding data allow to assess mixed‐layer depth seasonal and interannual variability. Specifically, the maximum correlations between mixed‐layer anomalies and the Southern Annular Mode are found at different time lags, related to distinct summer/winter responses in the Antarctic Intermediate Water and Sub‐Antarctic Mode Waters main formation areas.

By using the images acquired by the OSIRIS (Optical, Spectroscopic and Infrared Remote Imaging System) and ROLIS (ROsetta Lander Imaging System) cameras, we derive the size¿ frequency distribution (SFD) of cometary pebbles and boulders covering the size range 0.05¿ 30.0 m on the Agilkia landing site. The global SFD measured on OSIRIS images, reflects the different properties of the multiple morphological units present on Agilkia, combined with selection effects related to lifting, transport and redeposition. Contrarily, the different ROLIS SFD derived on the smooth and rough units may be related to their different regolith thickness present on Agilkia. In the thicker, smoother layer, ROLIS mainly measures the SFD of the airfall population which almost completely obliterates the signature of underlying boulders up to a size of the order of 1 m. This is well matched by the power-law index derived analysing coma particles identified by the grain analyser Grain Impact Analyser and Dust Accumulator. This result confirms the important blanketing dynamism of Agilkia. The steeper SFD observed in rough terrains from 0.4 to 2 m could point out intrinsic differences between northern and southern dust size distributions, or it may suggest that the underlying boulders `peek through¿ the thinner airfall layer in the rough terrain, thereby producing the observed excess in the decimetre size range. Eventually, the OSIRIS SFD performed on the Philae landing unit may be due to water sublimation from a static population of boulders, affecting smaller boulders before the bigger ones, thus shallowing the original SFD. The support of the national funding agencies of Germany (DLR), France(CNES), Italy(ASI), Spain(MEC), Sweden(SNSB) and the ESA Technical Directorate is gratefully acknowledged. Peer Reviewed

High-frequency (HF) coastal radars measure current velocity at the ocean surface with a 30-100 km range and 1-3 km resolution, every 0.25-1 h. HF radars are well suited to many applications, such as search and rescue (SaR), oil-spill mitigation and ecosystem management. Here we present a first organized core of 12 HF radars installed in five sites in four countries (Greece, Italy, France and Spain) within the European MED project, the Tracking Oil Spill and Coastal Awareness (TOSCA) network. Dedicated experiments tested radar capabilities to estimate transport driven by currents, which is the key feature for all the above applications. Experiments involved the deployment of drifters, i.e., floating buoys, acting as proxies for substances passively advected by currents. Using HF radars the search range is reduced by a factor of 1.6 to 5.3 after 24 h. The paper also underlines the importance of sharing common tools for HF radar data processing and the need to mitigate radio frequency interference. The effort can be regarded as an initial step toward the creation of a Mediterranean or European HF radar network, crucial for any European integrated ocean observing system (IOOS). This work was supported by the Tracking Oil Spills and Coastal Awareness (TOSCA) Network project [grant number 2G-MED09-425], co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund in the framework of the MED programme Lucio Bellomo et al. Peer Reviewed

Abstract This paper presents a detailed analysis of the formation and subsequent evolution of filament-like structures observed in a relatively small area of the mid-Tyrrhenian Sea (Mediterranean Sea). The filament dynamics and potential impact on the cross-shelf exchange budget are investigated based on a combined use of remote sensing imagery, in situ data and numerical modelling. The complexity of these phenomena is shown by focusing on four distinct events that led to cross-shelf transport, each representative of a different dynamic process and a distinct expected impact on the coastal area. A systematic analysis of available observations for the years 1998–2006 underlines the role of the interplay of atmospheric freshwater fluxes, river loads and wind stress variations, which may create favourable conditions for the convergence of shelf waters (particularly at coastal capes) and the subsequent formation of short-lived filaments along the coast. The response of the buoyant coastal waters to periods of wind reversal and fluctuating freshwater discharge rates is examined through idealised Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) simulations. The filaments observed in remote sensing imagery were well reproduced by the numerical exercise, where the filaments appear as organised submesoscale structures that possess high relative vorticity and develop at the river mouths or adjacent capes. In both scenarios, the filaments appear largely determined by (i) the presence of a buoyancy anomaly, (ii) the angle between the wind pulse direction and the coast and (iii) irregularities in the coastal profile. The ensemble of results suggests that the occurrence of such transient, intense structures may contribute considerably to the biological variability and cross-shelf exchange in coastal areas with similar traits.