The ESA Permanent Facility for Altimetry Calibration in Crete: Advanced Services and the Latest Cal/Val Results
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Published:2024-01-05
Issue:2
Volume:16
Page:223
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ISSN:2072-4292
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Container-title:Remote Sensing
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language:en
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Short-container-title:Remote Sensing
Author:
Mertikas Stelios P.1ORCID, Donlon Craig2, Kokolakis Costas13, Piretzidis Dimitrios3ORCID, Cullen Robert2ORCID, Féménias Pierre4, Fornari Marco2, Frantzis Xenophon1, Tripolitsiotis Achilles3, Bouffard Jérôme4ORCID, Di Bella Alessandro4ORCID, Boy François5ORCID, Saunier Jerome6ORCID
Affiliation:
1. Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering Laboratory, Technical University of Crete, GR 73100 Chania, Greece 2. European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC), European Space Agency (ESA), Keplerlaan 1, AZ 2201 Noordwijk, The Netherlands 3. Space Geomatica P.C., Xanthoudidou 10A, GR 73132 Chania, Greece 4. European Space Research Institute (ESRIN), European Space Agency (ESA), Largo Galileo Galilei, I 00044 Frascati, Italy 5. Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), 31401 Toulouse, France 6. Réseaux et Services en Géodésie Spatiale, Service de Géodésie et de Métrologie, Institut National de L’information Géographique et Forestière (IGN), 94165 Saint-Mande, France
Abstract
Two microwave transponders have been operating in west Crete and Gavdos to calibrate international satellite radar altimeters at the Ku-band. One has been continuously operating for about 8 years at the CDN1 Cal/Val site in the mountains of Crete, and the other at the GVD1 Cal/Val site on Gavdos since 11 October 2021. This ground infrastructure is also supported at present by four sea-surface Cal/Val sites operating, some of them for over 20 years, while two additional such Cal/Val sites are under construction. This ground infrastructure is part of the European Space Agency Permanent Facility for Altimetry Calibration (PFAC), and as of 2015, it has been producing continuously a time series of range biases for Sentinel-3A, Sentinel-3B, Sentinel-6 MF, Jason-2, Jason-3, and CryoSat-2. This work presents a thorough examination of the transponder Cal/Val responses to understand and determine absolute biases for all satellite altimeters overflying this ground infrastructure. The latest calibration results for the Jason-3, Copernicus Sentinel-3A and -3B, Sentinel-6 MF, and CryoSat-2 radar altimeters are described based on four sea-surface and two transponder Cal/Val sites of the PFAC in west Crete, Greece. Absolute biases for Jason-3, Sentinel-6 MF, Sentinel-3A, Sentinel-3B, and CryoSat-2 are close to a few mm, determined using various techniques, infrastructure, and settings.
Funder
European Union European Space Agency National Institute of Geographic and Forest Information CNES Mission Performance Cluster of Sentinel-3 IsardSat, Catalonia
Subject
General Earth and Planetary Sciences
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