15 years of satellite, in-situ and reanalyzed salinity data: insights into sea surface salinity trends, variability, and water cycle links

Parracho, Ana Claudia; Zunino, Patricia; Sammartino, Michela; Boutin, Jacqueline; Greiner, Eric; Buongiorno Nardelli, Bruno; Kolodziejczyk, Nicolas

doi:10.5194/sp-7-osr10-12-2026

Articles | Volume 7-osr10

https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-7-osr10-12-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Report:

10th edition of the Copernicus Ocean State Report (OSR10)

https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-7-osr10-12-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 7-osr10

30 Sep 2026

| OSR10 | Chapter 2.9

| 30 Sep 2026 | OSR10 | Chapter 2.9

15 years of satellite, in-situ and reanalyzed salinity data: insights into sea surface salinity trends, variability, and water cycle links

Ana Claudia Parracho, Patricia Zunino, Michela Sammartino, Jacqueline Boutin, Eric Greiner, Bruno Buongiorno Nardelli, and Nicolas Kolodziejczyk

Data sets

CATDS-PDC L3OS 3G - Debiased Gaussian average daily salinity field product from SMOS satellite CATDS https://doi.org/10.12770/9c97fb5c-d7d5-4bc2-a5c7-57944026cd60

ISAS temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen gridded fields Nicolas Kolodziejczyk et al. https://doi.org/10.17882/52367

Multi Observation Global Ocean 3D Temperature Salinity Height Geostrophic Current and MLD EU Copernicus Marine Service Product https://doi.org/10.48670/moi-00052

Global Ocean Physics Reanalysis EU Copernicus Marine Service Product https://doi.org/10.48670/moi-00021

SSS SMOS/SMAP L4 OI - LOPS-v2023 EU Copernicus Marine Service Product https://doi.org/10.48670/mds-00369

Multi Observation Global Ocean Sea Surface Salinity and Sea Surface Density EU Copernicus Marine Service Product https://doi.org/10.48670/moi-00051

Short summary

We compared six global sea surface salinity datasets and found consistent trends between them. Many regions follow the known pattern of fresh areas getting fresher and salty areas saltier, with a growing contrast between the North Atlantic and North Pacific. However, comparison with longer-term data shows that short-term trends are strongly shaped by natural climate variability, especially in the Pacific.