4DVarNet-SSH: end-to-end learning of variational interpolation schemes for nadir and wide-swath satellite altimetry

The reconstruction of sea surface currents from satellite altimeter data is a key challenge in spatial oceanography, especially with the upcoming wide-swath SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean and Topography) altimeter mission. Operational systems, however, generally fail to retrieve mesoscale dynamics for horizontal scales below 100 km and timescales below 10 d. Here, we address this challenge through the 4DVarnet framework, an end-to-end neural scheme backed on a variational data assimilation formulation. We introduce a parameterization of the 4DVarNet scheme dedicated to the space-time interpolation of satellite altimeter data. Within an observing system simulation experiment (NATL60), we demonstrate the relevance of the proposed approach, both for nadir and nadir plus SWOT altimeter configurations for two contrasting case study regions in terms of upper ocean dynamics. We report a relative improvement with respect to the operational optimal interpolation between 30 % and 60 % in terms of the reconstruction error. Interestingly, for the nadir plus SWOT altimeter configuration, we reach resolved space-timescales below 70 km and 7 d. The code is open source to enable reproducibility and future collaborative developments. Beyond its applicability to large-scale domains, we also address the uncertainty quantification issues and generalization properties of the proposed learning setting. We discuss further future research avenues and extensions to other ocean data assimilation and space oceanography challenges.

Automated summary

Through the 4DVarnet framework, we propose a parameterization scheme for the space-time interpolation of satellite altimeter data, addressing the challenge of sea surface current reconstruction. In simulation experiments, we demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach in different scenarios of upper ocean dynamics, achieving a relative improvement of 30% to 60% in reconstruction error compared to operational optimal interpolation. Additionally, we discuss uncertainty quantification and generalization properties, as well as future research directions and extensions.