Evaluation of SMOS L4 Sea Surface Salinity Product in the Western Iberian Coast

Salinity is one of the oldest parameters being measured in oceanography and one of the most important to study in the context of climate change. However, its quantification by satellite remote sensing has been a relatively recent achievement. Currently, after over ten years of data gathering, there are still many challenges in quantifying salinity from space, especially when it is intended for coastal environments study. That is mainly due to the spatial resolution of the available products. Recently, a new higher resolution (5 km) L4 SMOS sea surface salinity (SSS) product was developed by the Barcelona Expert Center (BEC). In this study, the quality of this product was tested along the Western Iberian Coast through its comparison with in situ observations and modelled salinity estimates (CMEMS IBI Ocean Reanalysis system). Moreover, several parameters such as the temperature and depth of in situ measurements were tested to identify the variables or processes that induced higher errors in the product or influenced its performance. Lastly, a seasonal and interannual analysis was conducted considering data between 2011 to 2019 to test the product as a potential tool for long-term studies. The results obtained in the present analysis showed a high potential of using the L4 BEC SSS SMOS product in extended temporal and spatial analyses along the Portuguese coast. A good correlation between the satellite and the in situ datasets was observed, and the satellite dataset showed lower errors in retrieving coastal salinities than the oceanic model. Overall, the distance to the coast and the closest rivers were the factors that most influenced the quality of the product. The present analysis showed that great progress has been made in deriving coastal salinity over the years and that the SMOS SSS product is a valuable contribution to worldwide climatological studies. In addition, these results reinforce the need to continue developing satellite remote sensing products as a global and cost-effective methodology for long-term studies.

Automated summary

Salinity is an important parameter to study in the context of climate change, and quantifying it through satellite remote sensing has been a recent achievement. This study tested the quality of a new higher resolution SMOS sea surface salinity product and found it to be a valuable tool for long-term studies along the Portuguese coast.