On the Assimilation of Wide Swath Significant Wave Height and Directional Wave Observations in Wave Model : Perspective for Operational Use.

The availability of wide swath Significant wave heights (SWH) such as those retrieved in the frame of CFOSAT and HY2B satellite missions opens important perspectives for the improvement of operational wave forecasting. The objective of this work is to analyze the impact of the combined assimilation of wide swath SWH and directional wave spectra on the integrated wave parameters in the analysis and forecast periods. The results show a significant improvement of the SWH estimate in different ocean regions. We clearly showed the persistency of the assimilation up to 3 days in the forecast period. Most striking is the ability of the combined assimilation to effectively correct swell tracking for storm events, such as Hurricane Pablo in 2019.