Preparing the new generation of altimetry products for open ocean
Abstract
Since the launch of the first altimeters the accuracy of the altimetry data has continuously increased thanks to the improvement of both the technology of the instruments and the on-ground processing. These improvements allowed the apparition of various applications. About a thousand teams (in 2007) now use the altimetry products around the world for geodesy, oceanic circulation, model, wind/waves applications ... One of the main contributors to the success of altimetry, the French Space Agency (CNES), decided this year to fund a new project in order to prepare the new generation of altimetry products for open ocean. The project, starting in September 2008 will consist in two phases. The first phase is the analysis of the users needs and the subsequent redefinition of the product content in terms of resolution way of data distribution to the final user. Secondly all the potential improvements of the altimetry processing chains will be analysed. This includes the developpement of new retracking algorithms, the update of geophysical corrections based on recent models and algorithms, and the computation of new reference surfaces (Mean Sea Surface, Mean Dynamic topography). A specific study will also be dedicated on the quantification of the errors of altimetry measurements. Improving the altimetry products requires several fields of expertise. A consortium gathering experts in most of these fields will be in charge of this project on behalf of CNES. This project is a good opportunity to have a consistent approach for the general improvement of the current altimetry processing. It is also a good opportunity to reinforce the collaboration between the altimetry product development teams and the final users, which is essential to have optimal products, suitable for all kind of applications.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2008
- Bibcode:
- 2008AGUFMOS11C1141F
- Keywords:
-
- 4262 Ocean observing systems