SWOT reveals mesoscale eddy hotspots and deserts in subpolar and polar oceans

SWOT reveals mesoscale eddy hotspots and deserts in subpolar and polar oceans | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Brief Communication SWOT reveals mesoscale eddy hotspots and deserts in subpolar and polar oceans Charly de Marez, Matthis Auger, Carolina Dufour This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8396214/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Mesoscale eddies strongly influence ocean circulation and Earth’s climate, yet traditional altimetry lacks the resolution to constrain their distribution at high latitudes. Using one year of wide-swath satellite measurements, we reveal eddy hotspots and eddy deserts across subpolar and polar regions, including the seasonal ice zone. These observations expose previously unseen mesoscale variability and provide the first observational benchmark for evaluating climate models and eddy-driven climate impacts at high latitudes. Earth and environmental sciences/Ocean sciences/Physical oceanography Earth and environmental sciences/Climate sciences/Ocean sciences/Physical oceanography Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8396214","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Brief Communication","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":571613878,"identity":"c9b13636-6c74-4aec-adf8-d70efcbf3e7f","order_by":0,"name":"Charly de Marez","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABFUlEQVRIie3PMWrDMBSA4WceOIvAWxAU38Gg1cRXkQjYi4eWQOeAoV0MWRV8CUOHUihURdAxWQvukMmzIUuhhlZxA1nk0LEQ/VjGlviQBOBy/ceoGTsAb/n7GwPg8BzydqOEn0h6IgQw+gvRw/ssCaqi7cQdhKupbruu34rHCYnw5jlOEkC/s23y8cakIWxdpWwtSSOeCkNkm4oSEKWFRJQzMETUDWdIaCNq7WdfRGlOINC2g0U02w/kpcn22EebA+FI1Hdi7oJ2kh93ucoZAleGoDJEeeUIoe/5AviGMtnkC69UczYQqeai1HYSyOwButs4XFXm47OfhfX2dYnXapZM7gsrGfJ8apseB6b+3KLL5XJdfD80CV4d00sONwAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Laboratoire d’Océanographie Physique et Spatiale, University of Brest, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, IUEM","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Charly","middleName":"","lastName":"de Marez","suffix":""},{"id":571613879,"identity":"298845c2-6503-4514-a293-69bbda2aa498","order_by":1,"name":"Matthis Auger","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6228-5732","institution":"University of Tasmania","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Matthis","middleName":"","lastName":"Auger","suffix":""},{"id":571613880,"identity":"2f1681cd-36b1-4d5f-a29a-9f96ff24409b","order_by":2,"name":"Carolina Dufour","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Laboratoire d’Océanographie Physique et Spatiale, University of Brest, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, IUEM","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Carolina","middleName":"","lastName":"Dufour","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-12-18 14:00:18","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8396214/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8396214/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":105563052,"identity":"d51c52ea-fb33-44a6-8ec9-97adbf9373c1","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-27 12:45:50","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":2313162,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Article File","description":"","filename":"demarezetalmanuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8396214/v1_covered_706925cb-15d7-4321-85d1-3600efacaf13.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"There is \u003cb\u003eNO\u003c/b\u003e Competing Interest.","formattedTitle":"SWOT reveals mesoscale eddy hotspots and deserts in subpolar and polar oceans","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"nature-portfolio","isNatureJournal":true,"hasQc":false,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Nature Portfolio","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":false,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"ejp","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8396214/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8396214/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Mesoscale eddies strongly influence ocean circulation and Earth’s climate, yet traditional altimetry lacks the resolution to constrain their distribution at high latitudes. 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