GIScience & Remote Sensing

Scientific Advances in Surface Water and Hydrological Cycle Observations from the SWOT Mission

The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite mission marks a transformative advancement in Earth system observation, delivering the first global, high-resolution measurements of surface water elevation and extent. Utilizing a Ka-band radar interferometer, SWOT captures two-dimensional water surface elevation fields, enabling comprehensive quantification of river discharge, lake storage, floodplain dynamics, and ocean mesoscale processes within a unified framework.

Since its launch, SWOT has opened new pathways for understanding terrestrial hydrological processes, particularly in ungauged or data-sparse regions. However, translating SWOT’s high-resolution measurements into physically meaningful hydrological and geophysical variables remains a frontier challenge. The retrieval of inland water levels and discharge involves complex issues related to instrument noise, decorrelation effects, temporal aliasing, and dynamic topography, especially in regions of variable topography or vegetation cover.

This Article Collection invites cutting-edge studies exploring the use of SWOT data to advance our understanding of surface water variability, water storage dynamics, and hydrological connectivity across multiple scales. We particularly welcome contributions that integrate SWOT with complementary satellite missions (e.g., Sentinel, Landsat, GRACE, ICESat-2) and hydrological or hydraulic modeling frameworks. Studies focusing on early mission validation, algorithm innovation, data assimilation, and new scientific discoveries in continental hydrology are especially encouraged.

By consolidating early scientific findings and methodological developments, this Collection aims to accelerate the transformation of SWOT observations into hydrological knowledge, supporting the long-term goals of global water resource monitoring and climate research.

Topics of interest include but are not limited to:

• Early SWOT hydrology results: calibration, validation, and performance assessment
• Retrieval of river discharge, lake water storage, and floodplain dynamics from SWOT observations
• Integration of SWOT with GRACE, ICESat-2, and optical or SAR sensors for surface water budget analysis
• New algorithms for water surface elevation, extent, and slope estimation in complex terrains
• SWOT-based approaches for mapping extreme hydrological events (floods, droughts, lake overflows)
• Multi-scale data assimilation of SWOT into hydrological and hydraulic models
• Applications of SWOT data for understanding surface water variability and connectivity
• Advances in noise filtering, uncertainty quantification, and error characterization in SWOT inland hydrology
• Global and regional case studies revealing new hydrological processes or phenomena

Keywords:

• SWOT Satellite
• Surface Water Elevation
• River and Lake Dynamics
• Hydrological Cycle
• Flood and Drought Monitoring
• Data Assimilation
• Multi-Satellite Synergy
• Hydrological Modeling
• Global Water Resources
• Climate Variability

Article Collection Guest Advisors:

Professor Nan Xu, Shenzhen University, China, [email protected]

Professor Jiaqi Yao, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China, [email protected]

Associate Professor Yongze Song, Curtin University, Australia, [email protected]

Professor Hui Lu, Tsinghua University, China,[email protected]

­­All manuscripts submitted to this Article Collection will undergo a full peer-review; only those Guest Advisors who serve as editorial board members will handle manuscripts.

Further Information:

Please review the journal scope and author submission instructions prior to submitting a manuscript.

The deadline for submitting manuscripts is 30 November 2026

Please contact Alex Johnson at [email protected] with any queries and discount codes regarding this Article Collection.

Please be sure to select the appropriate Article Collection from the drop-down menu in the submission system.