ALCIONE: Diagnosis of ocean currents from satellite observations

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Jordi Isern Fontanet holds a degree in Physical Sciences from the University of Barcelona and a PhD in Applied Physics from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. He did his thesis at the Institute of Marine Sciences (CSIC). In 2005 he obtained a post-doctoral fellowship from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science for a post-doctoral period at the Laboratoire de Physique des Océans (Ifremer) in Brest (France). In 2006 he obtained a Marie Curie Fellowship (EIF) to continue his post-doctoral studies at the Laboratoire d’Océanographie Spatiale (Ifremer), also in Brest. In 2008 he obtained a Ramón y Cajal contract, and in 2009 he moved to the Institut de Ciències del Clima in Barcelona, where he created and directed the Dynamic Oceanography and Climate Group until 2014 when he returned to the Institute of Marine Sciences. ComFuturo Researcher (I edition) in this centre, where he developed his project “Diagnosis of ocean currents from satellite observations”.

Project Summary

Ocean currents are a key element in understanding many oceanic and climatic phenomena and for the conduct of most nautical activities such as shipping. Consequently, knowledge of ocean currents in the present time becomes a fundamental objective for both scientific and commercial applications. However, their precise knowledge is still too limited to be used effectively in many practical problems. This project proposes to investigate new methods for extracting information about currents from sea surface temperature images as provided by satellites such as Meteosat. Satellite images not only contain information on ocean currents but also tell us how the ocean is reacting to global warming. In this project, we will also focus on investigating whether the geometries of the structures we see in satellite images can be used as indicators of the effect of global warming on the ocean.

Application:

To better diagnose ocean currents, thereby increasing the safety of human activities at sea and reducing CO2 emissions from maritime transport.

See interview with Jordi Isern at madri+d

Scientific production derived from the ComFuturo Project

 

Scientific articles

  • J. Isern-Fontanet; J. Ballabrera-Poy; A. Turiel; E. García-Ladona (2017). Remote sensing  of ocean surface currents: a review of what is being observed and what is being assimilated. NON-LINEAR PROCESSES IN GEOPHYSICAL FLOWS. DOI: 5194/npg-24-613-2017

 

  • J. Isern-Fontanet; E. Olmedo; A. Turiel; J. Ballabrera-Poy; E. García-Ladona (2016). Retrieval of eddy dynamics from SMOS Sea Surface Salinitymeasurements in the Algerian Basin (Mediterranean Sea). GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS. DOI:10.1002/2016GL069595

 

 Works presented at conferences

  • J. Isern-Fontanet; A. Turiel; E. Olmedo; M. Masdeu. Characterization of ocean submesoscale turbulence regimes from satellite observations of Sea Surface Temperatures. V Encuentro de Oceanografía Física Española. Oral Presentation. Vigo, Spain. 20/06/2018-22/06/2018

 

  • J. Isern-Fontanet; A. Turiel; E. Olmedo; M. Masdeu. Characterization of ocean submesoscale turbulence regimes from satellite observations of Sea Surface Temperatures. European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2018. Oral presentation. Vienna, Austria. 08/04/2018-13/04/2018

 

  • J. Isern-Fontanet. Reconstruction of ocean currents from existing satellite observations: the challenge of high resolution dynamics. International Workshop on Marine Pollution and Maritime Safety. Oral Presentation. Barcelona, Spain. 03/10/2017-06/10/2017

 

  • J. Isern-Fontanet. Real-time reconstruction of surface velocities from satellite observations in the Alboran Sea. 3rd GlobCurrent User Consultation Meeting. Oral presentation. Frascati, Italy. 21/03/2017-23/03/2017

 

  • J. Isern-Fontanet. SAR altimetry. 3rd GlobCurrent User Consultation Meeting. Presentación oral. Frascati, Italy. 21/03/2017-23/03/2017

 

  • J. Isern-Fontanet; A. Turiel; E. Olmedo; C. González-Haro. Reconstruction of ocean currents from existing satellite observations: the challenge of high resolution dynamics. XXXII Trobades cientifiques de la Mediterrània, Mahon (Spain). Oral presentation. 5/10/2016-7/10/2016

 

  • J. Isern-Fontanet; E. Olmedo; A. Turiel; J. Ballabrera-Poy; E. García-Ladona. Can SMOS observe mesoscale eddies in the Algerian basin? CIESM, Kiel (Germany). Oral presentation. 12-09/2016-16/09/2016

 

  • J. Isern-Fontanet; E. García-Ladona; C. Martín-Puig; J.A. Jiménez Madrid; A. Turiel; O. Chic. Reconstruction of ocean currents at scales shorter than 30 km from existing satellite observations: eddies along the Iberian coast. CIESM, Kiel (Germany). Oral presentation. 12-09/2016-16/09/2016

 

  • J. Isern-Fontanet. Reconstruction of ocean currents from existing satellite observations: the challenge of high resolution dynamics. Third International Workshop on Nonlinear Processes in Oceanic and Atmospheric Flows. Invited oral presentation. Madrid, Spain. 06/07/2016 – 08/07/2016

 

  • J. Isern-Fontanet; A. Turiel; E. Olmedo. Characterization of ocean submesoscale turbulence regimes from satellite observations of Sea Surface Temperatures. 48th Liege Colloquium: Submesoscale Processes: Mechanisms, Implications and new Frontiers. Oral presentation. Liège, Belgium. 23/05/2016 – 27/05/2016

 

  • C. González-Haro; E. Autret; J. Isern-Fontanet; P. Tandeo; C. Le Goff; R. Fablet; R. Garello. Synergy of Sentinels-3 sensors: On the transfer function between infrared SSTand along-track altimeter observations. ESA Living Planet Symposium. Oral presentation. Prague, Czech Republic. 09/05/2016 – 13/05/2016

 

  • J. Ballabrera-Poy; J. Font; C. Gabarró; V. González-Gambau; N. Hoareau; J. Isern-Fontanet; J. Martínez; E. Olmedo; F. Pérez; M. Piles; M. Portabella; A. Turiel; M. Umbert. New BEC SMOS products: improvements and performances from Level1 to Level4. ESA Living Planet Symposium. Poster. Prague, Czech Republic. 09/05/2016 – 13/05/2016

 

  • J. Isern-Fontanet; C. Martín-Puig; C. González-Haro; A. Turiel; E. García-Ladona. Reconstruction of ocean currents at scales shorter tan 30 km from existing satellite observations. ESA Living Planet Symposium. Poster. Prague, Czech Republic. 09/05/2016 -13/05/2016

 

  • J. Isern-Fontanet; C. González-Haro; C. Martín-Puig; A. Turiel. Reconstruction of ocean currents at scales shorter tan 30 km from existing satellite observations. IV Encuentro de la Oceanografía Física Española. Oral presentation. Alicante, Spain. 20/07/2016 -22/07/2016

 

  • J. Isern Fontanet. Reconstruction of ocean currents at scales shorter tan 30 km from existing satellite observations. EOS-COST Workshop on the use of new satellite datasets in marine climate applications. Invited oral presentation. Porto, Portugal. 30/03/2016-01/04/2016

 

  • J. Isern-Fontanet; C. Martín-Puig; A. Turiel; C. González-Haro; E. García-Ladona. Reconstruction of oceancurrents at scales shorter tan 30 km from existing satellite observations. Ocean Surface Currents: towards future mission concepts. Oral presentation. Brest, France. 04/11/2015 – 06/11/2015

 

  • J. Isern Fontanet; A. Turiel Martínez. Two-dimensional surface currents from the combination of MSG and Jason observations. EUMETSAT Meteorological Satellite Conference. Oral presentation. Toulouse, France. 21/09/2015 – 25/09/2015