Corsica: A 20-Yr multi-mission absolute altimeter calibration site

Type Article
Date 2021-07
Language English
Author(s) Bonnefond P.1, Exertier P.2, 3, Laurain O.2, Guinle T.4, Femenias P.5
Affiliation(s) 1 : SYRTE, Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University, CNRS, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ. Paris 06, LNE, 77 avenue Denfert-Rochereau, 75014 Paris, France
2 : Geoazur, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, 250 rue Albert Einstein - CS 10269, 06905 Sophia-Antipolis Cedex, France
3 : GET, Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées, 14, avenue Edouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France
4 : CNES, 18, avenue Edouard Belin, 31401 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
5 : ESA/ESRIN, Via Galileo Galilei CP64, I-00044 Frascati, Italy
Source Advances In Space Research (0273-1177) (Elsevier Sci Ltd), 2021-07 , Vol. 68 , N. 2 , P. 1171-1186
DOI 10.1016/j.asr.2019.09.049
WOS© Times Cited 23
Keyword(s) Satellite altimetry, In situ, Tide gauges, GNSS, Calibration, Validation
Abstract

Initially developed for monitoring the performance of TOPEX/Poseidon and follow-on Jason legacy satellite altimeters, the Corsica geodetic facilities that are located both at Senetosa Cape and near Ajaccio have been developed to calibrate successive satellite altimeters in an absolute sense. Since 1998, the successful calibration process used to calibrate most of the oceanographic satellite altimeter missions has been regularly updated in terms of in situ instruments, geodetic measurements and methodologies. In this study, we present an assessment of the long-term stability of the in situ instruments in terms of sea level monitoring that include a careful monitoring of the geodetic datum. Based on this 20-yr series of sea level measurements, we present a review of the derived absolute Sea Surface Height (SSH) biases for the following altimetric missions based on the most recent reprocessing of their data set: TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason-1/2/3, Envisat and ERS-2, CryoSat-2, SARAL/AltiKa and Sentinel-3A&B. For the longest time series the standard error of the absolute SSH biases is now at a few millimeters level which is fundamental to maintain the high level of confidence that scientists have in the global mean sea level rise.

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