Altimeter as an Imager of the Sea Surface Roughness: Comparison of SAR and LRM Modes
Satellite altimeters, designed to measure the topography of the ocean, are also good imagers of the ocean surface backscatter. A method was developed to invert the classical Low Resolution Mode high resolution HR waveforms in terms of surface backscatter at high resolution (similar to 300m). Since the launch of Cryosat-2 in 2010, a new generation of altimeters using Doppler capabilities has emerged and has become the standard for the new altimeters such as the Sentinel-3 one. The so-called SAR altimetry provides higher along-track resolution and lower noise level. In this mode altimeter are also good imagers of the surface backscatter. A new method of inversion of SAR waveforms is presented. The processing of the Sentinel-3 altimeters provides collocated SAR and LRM waveforms that are used to intercompare the inverted surfce backscatter.
Keyword(s)
Altimeter, high resolution surface roughness, inversion
Tournadre Jean, Chapron Bertrand (2020). Altimeter as an Imager of the Sea Surface Roughness: Comparison of SAR and LRM Modes. IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS), ELECTR NETWORK, SEP 26-OCT 02, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1109/IGARSS39084.2020.9323226, https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00719/83076/