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27 pages, 2632 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessment of DUACS Sentinel-3A Altimetry Data in the Coastal Band of the European Seas: Comparison with Tide Gauge Measurements

by Antonio Sánchez-Román, Ananda Pascual, Marie-Isabelle Pujol, Guillaume Taburet, Marta Marcos and Yannice Faugère

Remote Sens. 2020, 12(23), 3970; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12233970 - 04 Dec 2020

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2729

Abstract

The quality of the Data Unification and Altimeter Combination System (DUACS) Sentinel-3A altimeter data in the coastal area of the European seas is investigated through a comparison with in situ tide gauge measurements. The comparison was also conducted using altimetry data from Jason-3 [...] Read more.

The quality of the Data Unification and Altimeter Combination System (DUACS) Sentinel-3A altimeter data in the coastal area of the European seas is investigated through a comparison with in situ tide gauge measurements. The comparison was also conducted using altimetry data from Jason-3 for inter-comparison purposes. We found that Sentinel-3A improved the root mean square differences (RMSD) by 13% with respect to the Jason-3 mission. In addition, the variance in the differences between the two datasets was reduced by 25%. To explain the improved capture of Sea Level Anomaly by Sentinel-3A in the coastal band, the impact of the measurement noise on the synthetic aperture radar altimeter, the distance to the coast, and Long Wave Error correction applied on altimetry data were checked. The results confirmed that the synthetic aperture radar altimeter instrument onboard the Sentinel-3A mission better solves the signal in the coastal band. Moreover, the Long Wave Error processing contributes to reduce the errors in altimetry, enhancing the consistency between the altimeter and in situ datasets. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Calibration and Validation of Satellite Altimetry)

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23 pages, 6531 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Capability of Jason-2 Subwaveform Retrackers for Significant Wave Height in the Calm Semi-Enclosed Celebes Sea

by Kaoru Ichikawa, Xi-Feng Wang and Hitoshi Tamura

Remote Sens. 2020, 12(20), 3367; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12203367 - 15 Oct 2020

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2033

Abstract

Satellite altimetry is a unique system that provides repeated observations of significant wave height (SWH) globally, but its measurements could be contaminated by lands, slicks, or calm water with smooth surface. In this study, capability of subwaveform retrackers against 20 Hz Jason-2 measurements [...] Read more.

Satellite altimetry is a unique system that provides repeated observations of significant wave height (SWH) globally, but its measurements could be contaminated by lands, slicks, or calm water with smooth surface. In this study, capability of subwaveform retrackers against 20 Hz Jason-2 measurements is examined in the calm Celebes Sea. Distances between contamination sources and Jason-2 observation points can be determined using sequentially assembled adjacent waveforms (radargram). When no contamination sources are present within a Jason-2 footprint, subwaveform retrackers are in excellent agreement with the Sensor Geophysical Data Records (SGDR) MLE4 retracker that uses full-length waveforms, except that Adaptive Leading Edge Subwaveform (ALES) retracker has a positive bias in a calm sea state (SWH < 1 m), which is not unusual in the Celebes Sea. Meanwhile, when contamination sources exist within 4.5 km from Jason-2 observation points, SGDR occasionally estimates unrealistically large SWH values, although they could be partly eliminated by sigma0 filters. These datasets are then compared with WAVEWATCH III model, resulting in good agreement. The agreement becomes worse if swells from the Pacific is excluded in the model, suggesting constant presence of swells despite the semi-enclosed nature. In addition, outliers are found related with locally-confined SWH events, which could be inadequately represented in the model. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Calibration and Validation of Satellite Altimetry)

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24 pages, 7514 KiB

Open AccessArticle

S3MPC: Improvement on Inland Water Tracking and Water Level Monitoring from the OLTC Onboard Sentinel-3 Altimeters

by Nicolas Taburet, Lionel Zawadzki, Maxime Vayre, Denis Blumstein, Sophie Le Gac, François Boy, Matthias Raynal, Sylvie Labroue, Jean-François Crétaux and Pierre Femenias

Remote Sens. 2020, 12(18), 3055; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12183055 - 18 Sep 2020

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 2832

Abstract

The Sentinel-3A and Sentinel-3B satellites were launched, respectively, on 16 February 2016 and 25 April 2018 as part of the European Copernicus program. The Sentinel-3 Surface Topography Mission makes use of the altimeter instruments onboard Sentinel-3A and Sentinel-3B to provide elevation measurements not [...] Read more.

The Sentinel-3A and Sentinel-3B satellites were launched, respectively, on 16 February 2016 and 25 April 2018 as part of the European Copernicus program. The Sentinel-3 Surface Topography Mission makes use of the altimeter instruments onboard Sentinel-3A and Sentinel-3B to provide elevation measurements not only of the ocean water level but also of the inland waters and ice caps. For the first time, the altimeters onboard Sentinel-3A and Sentinel-3B are operated in Synthetic Aperture Radar mode over all Earth surfaces. They also benefit from elevation priors (the Open-Loop Tracking Command) allowing them to precisely position their receiving window to track the backscattered signal from the inland water targets to be monitored rather than relying on the traditional Closed-Loop tracking mode. This paper makes use of the Sentinel-3A/Sentinel-3B tandem phase to assess the benefits of the Open-Loop tracking mode compared to Closed-Loop. Longer time series are also used to highlight the improvements in terms of the percentage of points over which the altimeter hooks on water surfaces and water surface height estimation brought by the switch of Sentinel-3A from the Closed-Loop to Open-Loop tracking mode as well as the successive Open-Loop Tracking Command updates. In particular, it is shown that from a Level-3 water level product service perspective, the increase in the number of water bodies with valid water surface height estimates is of the order of 25% in Open-Loop with respect to Closed-Loop with similar precision. It is also emphasized that the Open-Loop Tracking Command update onboard Sentinel-3A from v. 4.2 to v. 5.0 yielded a 30% increase in the number of water bodies over which valid water surface height could be estimated. Eventually, the importance of knowing whether a water target was associated with a fine-tuned Open-Loop Tracking Command or an interpolated one is stressed and the recommendation to provide such a flag in the Sentinel-3 Level2 Payload Data Ground Segment products is emitted. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Calibration and Validation of Satellite Altimetry)

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21 pages, 3954 KiB

Open AccessArticle

GNSS/INS-Equipped Buoys for Altimetry Validation: Lessons Learnt and New Directions from the Bass Strait Validation Facility

by Boye Zhou, Christopher Watson, Benoit Legresy, Matt A. King, Jack Beardsley and Alistair Deane

Remote Sens. 2020, 12(18), 3001; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12183001 - 15 Sep 2020

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3642

Abstract

Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)-equipped buoys have a fundamental role in the validation of satellite altimetry. Requirements to validate next generation altimeter missions are demanding and call for a greater understanding of the systematic errors associated with the buoy approach. In this paper, [...] Read more.

Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)-equipped buoys have a fundamental role in the validation of satellite altimetry. Requirements to validate next generation altimeter missions are demanding and call for a greater understanding of the systematic errors associated with the buoy approach. In this paper, we assess the present-day buoy precision using archived data from the Bass Strait validation facility. We explore potential improvements in buoy precision by addressing two previously ignored issues: changes to buoyancy as a function of external forcing, and biases induced by platform dynamics. Our results indicate the precision of our buoy against in situ mooring data is ~15 mm, with a ~8.5 mm systematic noise floor. Investigation into the tether tension effect on buoyancy showed strong correlation between currents, wind stress and buoy-against-mooring residuals. Our initial empirical correction achieved a reduction of 5 mm in the standard deviation of the residuals, with a 51% decrease in variance over low frequency bands. Corrections associated with platform orientation from an Inertial Navigation System (INS) unit showed centimetre-level magnitude and are expected to be higher under rougher sea states. Finally, we conclude with further possible improvements to meet validation requirements for the future Surface Water Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Calibration and Validation of Satellite Altimetry)

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15 pages, 8698 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Validation of Sentinel-3A Based Lake Level over US and Canada

by Karina Nielsen, Ole Baltazar Andersen and Heidi Ranndal

Remote Sens. 2020, 12(17), 2835; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12172835 - 01 Sep 2020

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 4021

Abstract

Satellite altimetry is an important contributor for measuring the water level of continental water bodies. The technique has been applied for almost three decades. In this period the data quality has increased and the applications have evolved from the study of a few [...] Read more.

Satellite altimetry is an important contributor for measuring the water level of continental water bodies. The technique has been applied for almost three decades. In this period the data quality has increased and the applications have evolved from the study of a few large lakes and rivers, to near global applications at various scales. Products from current satellite altimetry missions should be validated to continuously improve the measurements. Sentinel-3A has been operating since 2016 and is the first mission operating in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) mode globally. Here we evaluate its performance in capturing lake level variations based on a physical and an empirical retracker provided in the official level 2 product. The validation is performed for more than 100 lakes in the United States and Canada where the altimetry based water levels are compared with in situ data. As validation measures we consider the root mean squared error, the Pearson correlation, and the percentage of outliers. For the US sites the median of the RMSE value is 25 cm and 19 cm and the median of the Pearson correlations are 0.86 and 0.93 for the physical and empirical retracker, respectively. The percentage of outliers (median) is 11% for both retrackers. The validations measures are slightly poorer for the Canadian sites; the median RMSE is approximately 5 cm larger, the Pearson correlation 0.1 lower, and the percentage of outliers 5% larger. The poorer performance for the Canadian sites is mainly related to the presence of lake ice in the winter period where the surface elevations are not able to map the surface correctly. The validation measures improve considerably when evaluated for summer data only. For both areas we show that the reconstruction of the water level variations based on the empirical retracker is significantly better compared to that of the physical retracker in terms of the RMSE and the Pearson correlation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Calibration and Validation of Satellite Altimetry)

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23 pages, 11071 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Investigation of the Influences of SWOT Sampling and Errors on Ocean Eddy Observation

by Chunyong Ma, Xiaoxiao Guo, Haoxin Zhang, Jiankai Di and Ge Chen

Remote Sens. 2020, 12(17), 2682; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12172682 - 19 Aug 2020

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3026

Abstract

The mission of Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) is scheduled to be launched in 2022, and global ocean eddies with radius scales of larger than 10 km are expected to be observed from space. However, there are still open questions about the [...] Read more.

The mission of Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) is scheduled to be launched in 2022, and global ocean eddies with radius scales of larger than 10 km are expected to be observed from space. However, there are still open questions about the capability of SWOT to detect ocean eddies. Based on ocean model data and SWOT orbit, this study simulates along-track observation of SWOT. Two eddy datasets are derived from simulated observation data via mapping and eddy identification procedures, one of which includes SWOT errors and the other does not. The third eddy dataset is generated from the original model data. Through comparing these three eddy datasets, it is found that 34% (40%) eddies are lost due to insufficient temporal sampling and errors in the Kuroshio Extension (South China Sea) region, and numerous artifact eddies are generated. To further explain the influence of SWOT errors on smaller-scale eddies, two eddies (a cyclonic eddy and an anticyclonic eddy) with the radius of about 10 km are repeatedly observed 100 times using the SWOT-simulator. The cyclonic eddy with larger amplitude has been detected 84 times, while the anticyclonic eddy is visible 76 times. Therefore, the influence of the SWOT sampling and errors on ocean eddy observation is revealed by the results of these observing system simulation experiments (OSSEs). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Calibration and Validation of Satellite Altimetry)

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19 pages, 8927 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mapping Sea Surface Height Using New Concepts of Kinematic GNSS Instruments

by Clémence Chupin, Valérie Ballu, Laurent Testut, Yann-Treden Tranchant, Michel Calzas, Etienne Poirier, Thibault Coulombier, Olivier Laurain, Pascal Bonnefond and Team FOAM Project

Remote Sens. 2020, 12(16), 2656; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12162656 - 19 Aug 2020

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 4919

Abstract

For over 25 years, satellite altimetry observations have provided invaluable information about sea-level variations, from Global Mean Sea-Level to regional meso-scale variability. However, this information remains difficult to extract in coastal areas, where the proximity to land and complex dynamics create complications that [...] Read more.

For over 25 years, satellite altimetry observations have provided invaluable information about sea-level variations, from Global Mean Sea-Level to regional meso-scale variability. However, this information remains difficult to extract in coastal areas, where the proximity to land and complex dynamics create complications that are not sufficiently accounted for in current models. Detailed knowledge of local hydrodynamics, as well as reliable sea-surface height measurements, is required to improve and validate altimetry measurements. New kinematic systems based on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) have been developed to map the sea surface height in motion. We demonstrate the capacity of two of these systems, designed to measure the height at a centimetric level: (1) A GNSS floating carpet towed by boat (named CalNaGeo); and (2) a combination of GNSS antenna and acoustic altimeter (named Cyclopée) mounted on an unmanned surface vehicle (USV). We show that, at a fixed point, these instruments provide comparable accuracy to the best available tide gauge systems. When moving at up to 7 knots, the instrument velocity does not affect the sea surface height accuracy, and the two instruments agree at a cm-level. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Calibration and Validation of Satellite Altimetry)

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39 pages, 17832 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

The ESA Permanent Facility for Altimetry Calibration: Monitoring Performance of Radar Altimeters for Sentinel-3A, Sentinel-3B and Jason-3 Using Transponder and Sea-Surface Calibrations with FRM Standards

by Stelios Mertikas, Achilleas Tripolitsiotis, Craig Donlon, Constantin Mavrocordatos, Pierre Féménias, Franck Borde, Xenophon Frantzis, Costas Kokolakis, Thierry Guinle, George Vergos, Ilias N. Tziavos and Robert Cullen

Remote Sens. 2020, 12(16), 2642; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12162642 - 16 Aug 2020

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 4757

Abstract

This work presents the latest calibration results for the Copernicus Sentinel-3A and -3B and the Jason-3 radar altimeters as determined by the Permanent Facility for Altimetry Calibration (PFAC) in west Crete, Greece. Radar altimeters are used to provide operational measurements for sea surface [...] Read more.

This work presents the latest calibration results for the Copernicus Sentinel-3A and -3B and the Jason-3 radar altimeters as determined by the Permanent Facility for Altimetry Calibration (PFAC) in west Crete, Greece. Radar altimeters are used to provide operational measurements for sea surface height, significant wave height and wind speed over oceans. To maintain Fiducial Reference Measurement (FRM) status, the stability and quality of altimetry products need to be continuously monitored throughout the operational phase of each altimeter. External and independent calibration and validation facilities provide an objective assessment of the altimeter’s performance by comparing satellite observations with ground-truth and in-situ measurements and infrastructures. Three independent methods are employed in the PFAC: Range calibration using a transponder, sea-surface calibration relying upon sea-surface Cal/Val sites, and crossover analysis. Procedures to determine FRM uncertainties for Cal/Val results have been demonstrated for each calibration. Biases for Sentinel-3A Passes No. 14, 278 and 335, Sentinel-3B Passes No. 14, 71 and 335, as well as for Jason-3 Passes No. 18 and No. 109 are given. Diverse calibration results by various techniques, infrastructure and settings are presented. Finally, upgrades to the PFAC in support of the Copernicus Sentinel-6 ‘Michael Freilich’, due to launch in November 2020, are summarized. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Calibration and Validation of Satellite Altimetry)

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20 pages, 1093 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sensitivity of Altimeter Wave Height Assessment to Data Selection

by Graham D. Quartly and Andrey A. Kurekin

Remote Sens. 2020, 12(16), 2608; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12162608 - 13 Aug 2020

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3187

Abstract

This paper addresses the issue of how the selection of buoys and the calculation of altimeter averages affect the metrics characterising the errors of altimetric wave height estimates. The use of a 51-point median reduces the sensitivity to occasional outliers, but the quality [...] Read more.

This paper addresses the issue of how the selection of buoys and the calculation of altimeter averages affect the metrics characterising the errors of altimetric wave height estimates. The use of a 51-point median reduces the sensitivity to occasional outliers, but the quality of this measure can be improved by demanding that there is a minimum number of valid measurements. This had a marked impact in both the open ocean and the coastal zone. It also affected the relative ordering of algorithms’ performances, as some fared poorly when a representative value was gleaned from a single waveform inversion, but had a much better ranking when a minimum of 20 values were used. Validation procedures could also be improved by choosing altimeter-buoy pairings that showed a good consistency. This paper demonstrated an innovative procedure using the median of the different retrackers analysed, which can be easily extended to other data validation exercises. This led to improved comparison statistics for all algorithms in the open ocean, with many showing errors less than 0.2 m, but there was only one strong change in the relative performance of the 11 Jason-3 retrackers. For Sentinel-3A, removing the inconsistent coastal buoys showed that all of the new algorithms had similar errors of just over 0.2 m. Thus, although improvements were found in the procedure used for the Sea State Round Robin exercise, the relative rankings for the buoy calibrations are mostly unaffected. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Calibration and Validation of Satellite Altimetry)

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24 pages, 8731 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sentinel-3 Microwave Radiometers: Instrument Description, Calibration and Geophysical Products Performances

by Marie-Laure Frery, Mathilde Siméon, Christophe Goldstein, Pierre Féménias, Franck Borde, Alexandre Houpert and Ana Olea Garcia

Remote Sens. 2020, 12(16), 2590; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12162590 - 12 Aug 2020

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3686

Abstract

Copernicus Sentinel-3 Surface Topography Mission embarks a two-channel microwave radiometer combined with the altimeter in order to correct the altimeter range for the excess path delay resulting from the presence of water vapour in the troposphere. The in-flight calibration of a single instrument [...] Read more.

Copernicus Sentinel-3 Surface Topography Mission embarks a two-channel microwave radiometer combined with the altimeter in order to correct the altimeter range for the excess path delay resulting from the presence of water vapour in the troposphere. The in-flight calibration of a single instrument is the critical point to achieve the expected performances. In the context of a constellation, the inter-calibration is even more important. After a presentation of the instrument design, we present the diagnoses used for the calibration of Sentinel-3A, using vicarious calibration over specific areas and double difference methods. The inter-calibration of Sentinel-3B with Sentinel-3A is performed during the tandem phase, using the residual differences of co-located measurements. Finally performances are assessed at crossover points with two parameters, first the wet troposphere correction by comparison with Jason-3; secondly on the Sea Surface Height by difference of variance. Analysis results have shown that Sentinel-3A is well calibrated, consistent with other instruments, and that Sentinel-3B is calibrated within 0.4 K with Sentinel-3A as a reference. Performances and stability fulfill the requirements for both missions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Calibration and Validation of Satellite Altimetry)

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28 pages, 10743 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Global Assessments of the HY-2B Measurements and Cross-Calibrations with Jason-3

by Yongjun Jia, Jungang Yang, Mingsen Lin, Youguang Zhang, Chaofei Ma and Chenqing Fan

Remote Sens. 2020, 12(15), 2470; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12152470 - 01 Aug 2020

Cited by 27 | Viewed by 4837

Abstract

The HY-2B satellite was successfully launched on 25 October 2018. One of the main payloads of the HY-2B was a radar altimeter. In the present study, the quality of the HY-2B along-track sea surface heights (SSH), significant wave heights (SWH), and sea surface [...] Read more.

The HY-2B satellite was successfully launched on 25 October 2018. One of the main payloads of the HY-2B was a radar altimeter. In the present study, the quality of the HY-2B along-track sea surface heights (SSH), significant wave heights (SWH), and sea surface wind speeds (SSWS) were assessed, including their precision and accuracy. In order to achieve this goal, the mono-mission metrics of the HY-2B were analyzed and compared with those of the Jason-2 and Jason-3 over the same periods of time. The results of both direct comparison and cross comparison methods were presented in this study. The comparison results indicated that the quality of the HY-2B satellite’s geophysical data records (GDRs) data was excellent, with 95% of the sea surfaces effectively observed between 82 degrees north and south latitudes. In addition, the standard deviation of the sea level anomalies (SLA) at the single mission crossovers was 4.6 cm to 5.8 cm, and at the dual-crossovers with Jason-3, the standard deviation was determined to be 5.1 cm to 5.8 cm. The accuracy levels of the significant wave heights and products of the HY-2B satellite radar altimeter were observed to be greater than 0.3 m and 1.4 m/s (STD), respectively. Therefore, it was concluded in this study that the data quality and system performance of the HY-2B satellite were excellent and stable, and could be widely utilized in such fields as global sea-level change monitoring, wave numerical assimilation predictions etc. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Calibration and Validation of Satellite Altimetry)

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17 pages, 4310 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Validation of Sentinel-3A/3B and Jason-3 Altimeter Wind Speeds and Significant Wave Heights Using Buoy and ASCAT Data

by Jungang Yang, Jie Zhang, Yongjun Jia, Chenqing Fan and Wei Cui

Remote Sens. 2020, 12(13), 2079; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12132079 - 29 Jun 2020

Cited by 36 | Viewed by 4049

Abstract

This study validated wind speed (WS) and significant wave height (SWH) retrievals from the Sentinel-3A/3B and Jason-3 altimeters for the period of data beginning 31 October 2019 (to 18 September 2019 for Jason-3) using moored buoy data and satellite Meteorological Operational Satellite Program [...] Read more.

This study validated wind speed (WS) and significant wave height (SWH) retrievals from the Sentinel-3A/3B and Jason-3 altimeters for the period of data beginning 31 October 2019 (to 18 September 2019 for Jason-3) using moored buoy data and satellite Meteorological Operational Satellite Program (MetOp-A/B) Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) data. The spatial and temporal scales of the collocated data were 25 km and 30 min, respectively. The statistical metrics of root mean square error (RMSE), bias, correlation coefficient (R), and scatter index (SI) were used to validate the WS and SWH accuracy. Validation of WS against moored buoy data indicated errors of 1.19 m/s, 1.13 m/s and 1.29 m/s for Sentinel-3A, Sentinel-3B and Jason-3, respectively. The accuracy of Sentinel-3A/3B WS is better than that of Jason-3. All three altimeters underestimated WS slightly in comparison with the buoy data. Errors in WS at different speeds or SWHs increased slightly as WS or SWH increased. Over time, the accuracy of the Jason-3 altimeter-derived WS improved, whereas that of Sentinel-3A showed no temporal dependence. The WSs of the three altimeters were compared with ASCAT wind data for validation purposes over the global ocean without in situ measurements. On average, the WSs of the three altimeters were lower in comparison with the ASCAT data. The accuracy of the three altimeters was found to be consistent and stable at low/medium speeds but it decreased when the WS exceeded 15 m/s. Validations of SWH against buoy wave data indicated that the accuracy of Jason-3 SWH was better than that of Sentinel-3A/3B. However, the accuracy of all three altimeters decreased when the SWH exceeded 4 m. The accuracy of Sentinel-3A and Jason-3 SWH was temporally stable, whereas that of Sentinel-3B SWH improved over time. Analyses of SWH accuracy as a function of wave period showed that the Jason-3 altimeter was better than the Sentinel-3A/3B altimeters for long-period ocean waves. Generally, the accuracy of WS and SWH data derived by the Sentinel-3A/3B and Jason-3 altimeters satisfies their mission requirements. Overall, the accuracy of WS (SWH) derived by Sentinel-3A/3B (Jason-3) is better than that retrieved by Jason-3 (Sentinel-3A/3B). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Calibration and Validation of Satellite Altimetry)

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57 pages, 28773 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Roles of the S3MPC: Monitoring, Validation and Evolution of Sentinel-3 Altimetry Observations

by Graham D. Quartly, Francesco Nencioli, Matthias Raynal, Pascal Bonnefond, Pablo Nilo Garcia, Albert Garcia-Mondéjar, Adrián Flores de la Cruz, Jean-Francois Crétaux, Nicolas Taburet, Marie-Laure Frery, Mathilde Cancet, Alan Muir, David Brockley, Malcolm McMillan, Saleh Abdalla, Sara Fleury, Emeline Cadier, Qi Gao, Maria Jose Escorihuela, Mònica Roca, Muriel Bergé-Nguyen, Olivier Laurain, Jérôme Bruniquel, Pierre Féménias and Bruno Lucas Show full author list Hide full author list

Remote Sens. 2020, 12(11), 1763; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12111763 - 29 May 2020

Cited by 31 | Viewed by 5957

Abstract

The Sentinel-3 Mission Performance Centre (S3MPC) is tasked by the European Space Agency (ESA) to monitor the health of the Copernicus Sentinel-3 satellites and ensure a high data quality to the users. This paper deals exclusively with the effort devoted to the altimeter [...] Read more.

The Sentinel-3 Mission Performance Centre (S3MPC) is tasked by the European Space Agency (ESA) to monitor the health of the Copernicus Sentinel-3 satellites and ensure a high data quality to the users. This paper deals exclusively with the effort devoted to the altimeter and microwave radiometer, both components of the Surface Topography Mission (STM). The altimeters on Sentinel-3A and -3B are the first to operate in delay-Doppler or SAR mode over all Earth surfaces, which enables better spatial resolution of the signal in the along-track direction and improved noise reduction through multi-looking, whilst the radiometer is a two-channel nadir-viewing system. There are regular routine assessments of the instruments through investigation of telemetered housekeeping data, calibrations over selected sites and comparisons of geophysical retrievals with models, in situ data and other satellite systems. These are performed both to monitor the daily production, assessing the uncertainties and errors on the estimates, and also to characterize the long-term performance for climate science applications. This is critical because an undetected drift in performance could be misconstrued as a climate variation. As the data are used by the Copernicus Services (e.g., CMEMS, Global Land Monitoring Services) and by the research community over open ocean, coastal waters, sea ice, land ice, rivers and lakes, the validation activities encompass all these domains, with regular reports openly available. The S3MPC is also in charge of preparing improvements to the processing, and of the development and tuning of algorithms to improve their accuracy. This paper is thus the first refereed publication to bring together the analysis of SAR altimetry across all these different domains to highlight the benefits and existing challenges. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Calibration and Validation of Satellite Altimetry)

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20 pages, 5347 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Calibration of an Airborne Interferometric Radar Altimeter over the Qingdao Coast Sea, China

by Lei Yang, Yongsheng Xu, Xinghua Zhou, Lin Zhu, Qiufu Jiang, Hanwei Sun, Ge Chen, Panlong Wang, Stelios P. Mertikas, Yanguang Fu, Qiuhua Tang and Fangjie Yu

Remote Sens. 2020, 12(10), 1651; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12101651 - 21 May 2020

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3978

Abstract

Calibration/Validation (Cal/Val) of satellite altimeters is fundamental for monitoring onboard sensor performance and ensuring long-term data quality. As altimeter technology has been evolving rapidly from profile to wide swath and interferometric altimetry, different requirements regarding Cal/Val have emerged. Most current Cal/Val technology has [...] Read more.

Calibration/Validation (Cal/Val) of satellite altimeters is fundamental for monitoring onboard sensor performance and ensuring long-term data quality. As altimeter technology has been evolving rapidly from profile to wide swath and interferometric altimetry, different requirements regarding Cal/Val have emerged. Most current Cal/Val technology has been developed for conventional profile altimeters, whereby satellite observations are compared against measurements at one point along orbit lines. However, the application of this type of Cal/Val technique to swath interferometric altimeters with two-dimensional measurements is difficult. Here, we propose a new strategy for the evaluation of interferometric altimeters based on comparison of wave-induced sea surface elevation (WSSE) spectra from one- and two-dimensional measurements. This method assumes that the WSSE variance of an equilibrium wave field is uniform and can be measured equivalently in the space or time domains. The method was first tested with simulated data and then used to evaluate the performance of an airborne interferometric radar altimeter system (AIRAS) using Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) buoy measurements. The differences between the WSSE variances from the AIRAS and two GNSS buoys were below 8 cm², corresponding to a standard deviation of 2.8 cm, which could serve as a reference for the WSSE error over the scale range of waves. The correlation coefficient between the AIRAS and GNSS buoys was approximately 0.90, indicating that the error was small relative to the WSSE signals. In addition, the sea surface height (SSH) difference measured by the AIRAS was compared with that derived from the GNSS buoys at two sites. The results indicated that the error of the SSH difference was 3 cm. This approach represents a possible technique for the Cal/Val of future spaceborne/airborne interferometric altimeters; however, additional experiments and applications are needed to verify the feasibility of this method. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Calibration and Validation of Satellite Altimetry)

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34 pages, 4305 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Round Robin Assessment of Radar Altimeter Low Resolution Mode and Delay-Doppler Retracking Algorithms for Significant Wave Height

by Florian Schlembach, Marcello Passaro, Graham D. Quartly, Andrey Kurekin, Francesco Nencioli, Guillaume Dodet, Jean-François Piollé, Fabrice Ardhuin, Jean Bidlot, Christian Schwatke, Florian Seitz, Paolo Cipollini and Craig Donlon

Remote Sens. 2020, 12(8), 1254; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12081254 - 16 Apr 2020

Cited by 29 | Viewed by 4629 | Correction

Abstract

Radar altimeters have been measuring ocean significant wave height for more than three decades, with their data used to record the severity of storms, the mixing of surface waters and the potential threats to offshore structures and low-lying land, and to improve operational [...] Read more.

Radar altimeters have been measuring ocean significant wave height for more than three decades, with their data used to record the severity of storms, the mixing of surface waters and the potential threats to offshore structures and low-lying land, and to improve operational wave forecasting. Understanding climate change and long-term planning for enhanced storm and flooding hazards are imposing more stringent requirements on the robustness, precision, and accuracy of the estimates than have hitherto been needed. Taking advantage of novel retracking algorithms, particularly developed for the coastal zone, the present work aims at establishing an objective baseline processing chain for wave height retrieval that can be adapted to all satellite missions. In order to determine the best performing retracking algorithm for both Low Resolution Mode and Delay-Doppler altimetry, an objective assessment is conducted in the framework of the European Space Agency Sea State Climate Change Initiative project. All algorithms process the same Level-1 input dataset covering a time-period of up to two years. As a reference for validation, an ERA5-based hindcast wave model as well as an in-situ buoy dataset from the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service In Situ Thematic Centre database are used. Five different metrics are evaluated: percentage and types of outliers, level of measurement noise, wave spectral variability, comparison against wave models, and comparison against in-situ data. The metrics are evaluated as a function of the distance to the nearest coast and the sea state. The results of the assessment show that all novel retracking algorithms perform better in the majority of the metrics than the baseline algorithms currently used for operational generation of the products. Nevertheless, the performance of the retrackers strongly differ depending on the coastal proximity and the sea state. Some retrackers show high correlations with the wave models and in-situ data but significantly under- or overestimate large-scale spectral variability. We propose a weighting scheme to select the most suitable retrackers for the Sea State Climate Change Initiative programme. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Calibration and Validation of Satellite Altimetry)

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23 pages, 33952 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development of an Image De-Noising Method in Preparation for the Surface Water and Ocean Topography Satellite Mission

by Laura Gómez-Navarro, Emmanuel Cosme, Julien Le Sommer, Nicolas Papadakis and Ananda Pascual

Remote Sens. 2020, 12(4), 734; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12040734 - 22 Feb 2020

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3672

Abstract

In the near future, the Surface Water Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission will provide images of altimetric data at kilometric resolution. This unprecedented 2-dimensional data structure will allow the estimation of geostrophy-related quantities that are essential for studying the ocean surface dynamics and for [...] Read more.

In the near future, the Surface Water Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission will provide images of altimetric data at kilometric resolution. This unprecedented 2-dimensional data structure will allow the estimation of geostrophy-related quantities that are essential for studying the ocean surface dynamics and for data assimilation uses. To estimate these quantities, i.e., to compute spatial derivatives of the Sea Surface Height (SSH) measurements, the uncorrelated, small-scale noise and errors expected to affect the SWOT data must be smoothed out while minimizing the loss of relevant, physical SSH information. This paper introduces a new technique for de-noising the future SWOT SSH images. The de-noising model is formulated as a regularized least-square problem with a Tikhonov regularization based on the first-, second-, and third-order derivatives of SSH. The method is implemented and compared to other, convolution-based filtering methods with boxcar and Gaussian kernels. This is performed using a large set of pseudo-SWOT data generated in the western Mediterranean Sea from a 1/60

^{\circ}

simulation and the SWOT simulator. Based on root mean square error and spectral diagnostics, our de-noising method shows a better performance than the convolution-based methods. We find the optimal parametrization to be when only the second-order SSH derivative is penalized. This de-noising reduces the spatial scale resolved by SWOT by a factor of 2, and at 10 km wavelengths, the noise level is reduced by factors of

10^{4}

and

10^{3}

for summer and winter, respectively. This is encouraging for the processing of the future SWOT data. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Calibration and Validation of Satellite Altimetry)

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13 pages, 392 KiB

Open AccessPerspective

An Overview of Requirements, Procedures and Current Advances in the Calibration/Validation of Radar Altimeters

by Graham D. Quartly, Ge Chen, Francesco Nencioli, Rosemary Morrow and Nicolas Picot

Remote Sens. 2021, 13(1), 125; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13010125 - 01 Jan 2021

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 3622

Abstract

Analysis of the radar echoes from a spaceborne altimeter gives information on sea surface height, wave height and wind speed, as well as other parameters over land and ice. The first spaceborne radar altimeter was pioneered on Skylab in 1974. Since then, there [...] Read more.

Analysis of the radar echoes from a spaceborne altimeter gives information on sea surface height, wave height and wind speed, as well as other parameters over land and ice. The first spaceborne radar altimeter was pioneered on Skylab in 1974. Since then, there have been about 20 further missions, with several advances in the sophistication of hardware and complexity of processing with the aim of increased accuracy and precision. Because of that, the importance of regular and precise calibration and validation (“cal/val”) remains undiminished, especially with efforts to merge altimetric records from multiple missions spanning different domains and time periods. This special issue brings together 19 papers, with a focus on the recent missions (Jason-2, Jason-3, Sentinel-3A and HY-2B) as well as detailing the issues for anticipated future missions such as SWOT. This editorial provides a brief guide to the approaches and issues for cal/val of the various different derived parameters, including a synopsis of the papers in this special issue. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Calibration and Validation of Satellite Altimetry)

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11 pages, 7025 KiB

Open AccessLetter

Assessment of the “Zero-Bias Line” Homogenization Method for Microwave Radiometers Using Sentinel-3A and Sentinel-3B Tandem Phase

by Bruno Picard, Ralf Bennartz, Frank Fell, Marie-Laure Frery, Mathilde Siméon and Frank Bordes

Remote Sens. 2020, 12(19), 3154; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12193154 - 25 Sep 2020

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2499

Abstract

The long-term stability of microwave radiometers (MWR) on-board altimetry missions is critical to reduce the uncertainty on the global mean sea level estimate. Harmonization and homogenization steps are applied to MWR observations in that perspective. The Sentinel-3 tandem phase provides a unique opportunity [...] Read more.

The long-term stability of microwave radiometers (MWR) on-board altimetry missions is critical to reduce the uncertainty on the global mean sea level estimate. Harmonization and homogenization steps are applied to MWR observations in that perspective. The Sentinel-3 tandem phase provides a unique opportunity to quantify the uncertainties on the “zero-bias line” homogenization approach defined by Bennartz et al. (2020). Initially developed to improve the performance of the wet tropospheric correction retrieval, it is used here to provide a common reference for the inter-calibration between Sentinel-3A and Sentinel-3B MWR. A simplified version of the “zero-bias line” approach, a linear correction depending on brightness temperatures, allows to strongly reduce the bias between the two radiometers for both channels (about 0.5 K) and the standard deviation of the difference (0.3 K). The full version of the approach adding a dependency on wind speed has improved the quality of the WTC retrieval (Bennartz et al. 2020) but degrades the performance of the homogenization. It is thus recommended to apply the simplified version of this approach in the processing of fundamental data record. The quantification of the uncertainties on the homogenization approach is only possible due to the ideal configuration of the Sentinel-3 tandem phase. The same dataset and the same metrics could be used to assess other approaches. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Calibration and Validation of Satellite Altimetry)

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12 pages, 19485 KiB

Open AccessTechnical Note

Validation and Calibration of Significant Wave Height and Wind Speed Retrievals from HY2B Altimeter Based on Deep Learning

by Jiuke Wang, Lotfi Aouf, Yongjun Jia and Youguang Zhang

Remote Sens. 2020, 12(17), 2858; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12172858 - 03 Sep 2020

Cited by 25 | Viewed by 4044

Abstract

HY2B is now the latest altimetry mission that provides global nadir significant wave height (SWH) and sea surface wind speed. The validation and calibration of HY2B are carried out against National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) buoy observations from April 2019 to April 2020. [...] Read more.

HY2B is now the latest altimetry mission that provides global nadir significant wave height (SWH) and sea surface wind speed. The validation and calibration of HY2B are carried out against National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) buoy observations from April 2019 to April 2020. In general, the HY2B altimeter measurements agree well with buoy observation, with scatter index of 9.4% for SWH, and 15.1% for wind speed. However, we observed a significant bias of 0.14 m for SWH and −0.42 m/s for wind speed. A deep learning technique is novelly applied for the calibration of HY2B SWH and wind speed. Deep neural network (DNN) is built and trained to correct SWH and wind speed by using input from parameters provided by the altimeter such as sigma0, sigma0 standard deviation (STD). The results based on DNN show a significant reduction of the bias, root mean square error (RMSE), and scatter index (SI) for both SWH and wind speed. Several DNN schemes based on different combination of input parameters have been examined in order to obtain the best model for the calibration. The analysis reveals that sigma0 STD is a key parameter for the calibration of HY2B SWH and wind speed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Calibration and Validation of Satellite Altimetry)

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11 pages, 3443 KiB

Open AccessLetter

Indirect Validation of Ocean Remote Sensing Data via Numerical Model: An Example of Wave Heights from Altimeter

by Haoyu Jiang

Remote Sens. 2020, 12(16), 2627; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12162627 - 14 Aug 2020

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2796

Abstract

Using numerical model outputs as a bridge, an indirect validation method for remote sensing data was developed to increase the number of effective collocations between remote sensing data to be validated and reference data. The underlying idea for this method is that the [...] Read more.

Using numerical model outputs as a bridge, an indirect validation method for remote sensing data was developed to increase the number of effective collocations between remote sensing data to be validated and reference data. The underlying idea for this method is that the local spatial-temporal variability of specific parameters provided by numerical models can compensate for the representativeness error induced by differences of spatial-temporal locations of the collocated data pair. Using this method, the spatial-temporal window for collocation can be enlarged for a given error tolerance. To test the effectiveness of this indirect validation approach, significant wave height (SWH) data from Envisat were indirectly compared against buoy and Jason-2 SWHs, using the SWH gradient information from a numerical wave hindcast as a bridge. The results indicated that this simple indirect validation method is superior to “direct” validation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Calibration and Validation of Satellite Altimetry)

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