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In situ Absolute Calibration and Validation: A Link from Coastal to Open-Ocean Altimetry

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Coastal Altimetry

Abstract

The determination of global and regional mean sea level variations with accuracies better than 1 mm/year is an important yet challenging problem, the resolution of which is central to the current debate on climate change and its impact on the environment. To address this, highly accurate time series from both satellite altimetry and tide gauges are needed. In both cases, the desired accuracy represents a significant challenge for the geodetic community. From the perspective of space borne altimetry, systematic errors from the orbit, reference frame and altimeter systems are all important limiting factors and must be minimized in order to derive data products of greatest geophysical value. Indeed, the objective for the overall accuracy of future altimeter systems is 1-cm (RMS) along with a stability of 1 mm/year. From the terrestrial perspective, estimating the vertical velocity of tide gauge sites to sufficient accuracy is also one of the most important and challenging problems in modern geodesy. Essential to reaching these goals in the measurement of mean sea level variation are ultra-precise validation and calibration techniques, including in situ absolute calibration experiments. Most of the present calibration experiments are on or near the coast, reinforcing the need for developing such techniques to unify the altimetric error budget for both open-ocean and local (coastal) conditions.

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Abbreviations

ALT-A or B:

Side A or B of the TOPEX altimeter

AMR:

Advanced Microwave Radiometer (OSTM/Jason-2)

Cal/val:

Calibration/validation

CCAR:

Colorado Centre for Astrodynamics Research

CERGA:

Centre d’Etudes et de Recherches Geodynamiques et Astronomiques

CGPS:

Continuous Global Positioning System

CNES:

Centre National d’Étude Spatiales

CU:

Colorado University

DORIS:

Détermination d’Orbite et Radiopositionnement Intégrés par Satellite

ECMWF:

European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts

EM:

Electro Magnetic

Envisat:

Environmental Satellite

ERS (1 & 2):

European Remote Sensing

EUMETSAT:

European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites

FTLRS:

French Transportable Laser Ranging System

GCE:

Geographically Correlated Errors

GDR:

Geophysical Data Records (prefix O = Operational, I = Interim)

GFO:

Geosat Follow-On

GLONASS:

GLObal NAvigation Satellite System

GOES:

Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites

GNSS:

Global Navigation Satellite Systems

GPS:

Global Positioning System

GRACE:

Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment

GSFC:

Goddard Space Flight Centre

IERS:

International Earth Rotation Service

IGDR:

Interim Geophysical Data Record

IGN:

Institut Géographique National

IGS:

International GPS Service for geodynamics

ISDGM/CNR:

Istituto per lo Studio della Dinamica delle Grandi Masse / Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche

ITRF:

International Terrestrial Reference Frame

JMR:

Jason-1 Microwave Radiometer

JPL:

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

MGDR:

Merged Geophysical Data Record

MLE:

Maximum Likelihood Estimator

NASA:

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NOAA:

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

OGDR:

Operational Geophysical Data Record

OMR:

Orbit Minus Range

OSTM:

Ocean Surface Topography Mission

OSTST:

Ocean Surface Topography Science Team

POD:

Precision Orbit Determination

POE:

Precision Orbit Ephemerides

RMS:

Root mean square

RSS:

Root Sum of Squares

SHOM:

Service Hydrographique et Océanographique de la Marine

SLR:

Satellite Laser Ranging

SPTR:

Scanning Point Target Response

SSB:

Sea State Bias

SSH:

Sea Surface Height

SWH:

Significant Wave Height

T/P:

TOPEX/Poseidon

TMR:

TOPEX Microwave Radiometer

TCA:

Time of Closest Approach

USO:

Ultra Stable Oscillator

VLBI:

Very Long Baseline Interferometry

VSAT:

Very Small Aperture Terminal

WVR:

Water Vapor Radiometer

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Acknowledgments

This chapter is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Yves Ménard for his deep involvement in the calibration and validation activities. The authors collectively acknowledge other members of their teams that have contributed to the design, operation and analyses of the calibration sites. Bass Strait: Neil White, Richard Coleman, John Church, Paul Tregoning, Jason Zhang, and Reed Burgette. Corsica: Olivier Laurain, Pierre Exertier, François Barlier, Gwénaële Jan, Yves Ménard, Claude Gaillemin, and the FTLRS team. Harvest: Ed Christensen (posthumous), George Born, Dan Kubitschek, Steve Gill, Dave Stowers, Plains Exploration and Production. A portion of this work was conducted by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with NASA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur – GeoAzur, Avenue Nicolas Copernic, 06130, Grasse, France

    P. Bonnefond

  2. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, MS 238-600, Pasadena, CA, 91109, USA

    B. J. Haines

  3. Surveying and Spatial Science Group, School of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia, 7001

    C. Watson

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  1. P. Bonnefond
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  2. B. J. Haines
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  3. C. Watson
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Correspondence to P. Bonnefond .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Ist. Biofisica, CNR Pisa, Via G. Moruzzi 1, Pisa, 56124, Italy

    Stefano Vignudelli

  2. , P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Nakhimovsky Pr. 36, Moscow, 117997, Russian Federation

    Andrey G. Kostianoy

  3. Lab. Satellite Oceanography, Ocean Observing & Climate Res. Group, National Oceanography Centre, European Way, Southampton, SO14 3ZH, United Kingdom

    Paolo Cipollini

  4. Directorate of Earth Observation Program, European Space Agency /ESRIN, Via Galileo Galilei, Frascati (Roma), 00044, Italy

    Jérôme Benveniste

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Bonnefond, P., Haines, B.J., Watson, C. (2011). In situ Absolute Calibration and Validation: A Link from Coastal to Open-Ocean Altimetry. In: Vignudelli, S., Kostianoy, A., Cipollini, P., Benveniste, J. (eds) Coastal Altimetry. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-12796-0_11

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