Data-Driven Calibration Algorithm and Pre-Launch Performance Simulations for the SWOT Mission

Abstract

The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission will be affected by various sources of systematic errors, which are correlated in space and in time. Their amplitude before calibration might be as large as tens of centimeters, i.e., able to dominate the mission error budget. To reduce their magnitude, we developed so-called data-driven (or empirical) calibration algorithms. This paper provided a summary of the overall problem, and then presented the calibration framework used for SWOT, as well as the pre-launch performance simulations. We presented two complete algorithm sequences that use ocean measurements to calibrate KaRIN globally. The simple and robust Level-2 algorithm was implemented in the ground segment to control the main source of error of SWOT’s hydrology products. In contrast, the more sophisticated Level-3 (multi-mission) algorithm was developed to improve the accuracy of ocean products, as well as the one-day orbit of the SWOT mission. The Level-2 algorithm yielded a mean inland error of 3–6 cm, i.e., a margin of 25–80% (of the signal variance) with respect to the error budget requirements. The Level-3 algorithm yielded ocean residuals of 1 cm, i.e., a variance reduction of 60–80% with respect to the Level-2 algorithm.