Shailen Desai (Jet Propulsion Laboratory, USA); Bruce Haines (Jet Propulsion Laboratory, USA)

We present results from the global calibration and validation of the sea surface height and component measurements from the recently released Jason-3 PEACHI product. In particular, our study focuses on the cross calibration and validation of the numerically retracked altimeter parameters versus those from the standard products. Furthermore, we consider the impact on cross-comparisons between Jason-3 and Jason-2 measurements during their tandem flying phase. Included in the study is an evaluation of the relative sea state bias between the standard and numerically retracked altimeter ranges.

A comparison between the respective sea surface height (SSH) measurements from the various retracked ranges is performed using various orbit solutions, including the MOE, POE, and JPL's GPS-based MOE and POE. SSH crossovers differences are also evaluated. We also use global along-track spectra to evaluate the impact of the various retracking approaches on the noise spectrum. In addition to evaluating the various retracking parameters in a global sense, we characterize the impact of these parameters on the Jason-3 SSH calibration record at Harvest, the NASA prime verification site for the reference (Jason-class) altimeter missions.