OCN 780 Seminar | SWOT and Extreme Events: From Iceberg-Driven Mini Tsunamis to Catastrophic Floods | Simoes-Sousa

Presenter: Dr. Iury Simoes-Sousa

Title:  SWOT and Extreme Events: From Iceberg-Driven Mini Tsunamis to Catastrophic Flood

Abstract: Extreme environmental events often involve rapid, localized forcing that generates strong and spatially coherent water surface responses. Using observations from NASA’s Surface Water and Ocean Topography mission, this talk examines two such cases: mini-tsunamis generated by iceberg calving in the open ocean, and a large-scale catastrophic flooding driven by extreme rainfall on land. Despite their very different origins, both events produce surface signals that can be directly observed from space and interpreted to quantify water volume, energy, and impact. Together, these examples illustrate how wide swath altimetry enables a new, physically grounded view of extreme events across the ocean and the land–sea interface.

Location: REMOTE: Zoom (No password needed)

Time: 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm