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The ESA Permanent Facility for Altimetry Calibration in Crete: Advanced Services and the Latest Cal/Val Results.

Authors :
Mertikas, Stelios P.
Donlon, Craig
Kokolakis, Costas
Piretzidis, Dimitrios
Cullen, Robert
Féménias, Pierre
Fornari, Marco
Frantzis, Xenophon
Tripolitsiotis, Achilles
Bouffard, Jérôme
Di Bella, Alessandro
Boy, François
Saunier, Jerome
Source :
Remote Sensing; Jan2024, Vol. 16 Issue 2, p223, 41p
Publication Year :
2024

Abstract

Two microwave transponders have been operating in west Crete and Gavdos to calibrate international satellite radar altimeters at the Ku-band. One has been continuously operating for about 8 years at the CDN1 Cal/Val site in the mountains of Crete, and the other at the GVD1 Cal/Val site on Gavdos since 11 October 2021. This ground infrastructure is also supported at present by four sea-surface Cal/Val sites operating, some of them for over 20 years, while two additional such Cal/Val sites are under construction. This ground infrastructure is part of the European Space Agency Permanent Facility for Altimetry Calibration (PFAC), and as of 2015, it has been producing continuously a time series of range biases for Sentinel-3A, Sentinel-3B, Sentinel-6 MF, Jason-2, Jason-3, and CryoSat-2. This work presents a thorough examination of the transponder Cal/Val responses to understand and determine absolute biases for all satellite altimeters overflying this ground infrastructure. The latest calibration results for the Jason-3, Copernicus Sentinel-3A and -3B, Sentinel-6 MF, and CryoSat-2 radar altimeters are described based on four sea-surface and two transponder Cal/Val sites of the PFAC in west Crete, Greece. Absolute biases for Jason-3, Sentinel-6 MF, Sentinel-3A, Sentinel-3B, and CryoSat-2 are close to a few mm, determined using various techniques, infrastructure, and settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
20724292
Volume :
16
Issue :
2
Database :
Complementary Index
Journal :
Remote Sensing
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
175130417
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16020223