Abstract's details
Ongoing Validation and Recent Improvements to CryoSat Ocean Products
CoAuthors
Event: 2023 Ocean Surface Topography Science Team Meeting
Session: Regional and Global CAL/VAL for Assembling a Climate Data Record
Presentation type: Type Oral
Contribution: PDF file
Abstract:
Since its launch in 2010, the Synthetic Aperture Interferometric Radar Altimeter (SIRAL) on CryoSat-2 has provided a unique insight into oceanographic processes with the introduction of delay doppler (SAR) altimetry. Since 2014, a dedicated ocean processor has provided CryoSat Ocean Products at different latencies (near-real time, a few days and ~monthly); here we only consider the approximately 30-day latency Geophysical Ocean Product (GOP). The current operational processor is Baseline C, but this is shortly to be updated to Baseline D. In this presentation we present the results of a validation study covering 12 years of Baseline C GOP data along with comparisons with a sample of the improved Baseline D.
This study extends the on-going routine daily and monthly quality reports (available from https://qras.earth.esa.int/?mis=CryoSat&ins=SIRAL); partly as it utilises additional data sources (e.g. ERA5, additional tide gauges). Results on sea surface height anomaly (SSHA), significant wave height and wind speed are all presented, including the relationship of latitude with ascending versus descending biases. In Baseline C, biases could be seen in both SSHA and wind speed. We will present the results of an analysis looking at these biases in Baseline C and Baseline D.
The global mean sea level (GMSL) from SIRAL (including by mode and pass direction) is compared with other estimates of GMSL and in turn compared with tide gauge data (from Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level).
This study extends the on-going routine daily and monthly quality reports (available from https://qras.earth.esa.int/?mis=CryoSat&ins=SIRAL); partly as it utilises additional data sources (e.g. ERA5, additional tide gauges). Results on sea surface height anomaly (SSHA), significant wave height and wind speed are all presented, including the relationship of latitude with ascending versus descending biases. In Baseline C, biases could be seen in both SSHA and wind speed. We will present the results of an analysis looking at these biases in Baseline C and Baseline D.
The global mean sea level (GMSL) from SIRAL (including by mode and pass direction) is compared with other estimates of GMSL and in turn compared with tide gauge data (from Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level).
