Abstract's details
Sentinel-6 Poseidon-4 L1B simulator: a model based simulator for end-to-end performance evaluation
CoAuthors
Event: 2016 SAR Altimetry Workshop
Session: Future missions, recommendations and round table
Presentation type: Type Poster
Contribution: not provided
Abstract:
Sentinel-6 mission objective is to provide high-precision measurements of global sea-level as continuation of the long-running Jason series of reference altimetry missions. In fact Sentinel 6 will fulfill the objectives of continuing the long term retrieval of global sea level rise/variability flying in the same orbit as its predecessors (TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason-1, Jason-2, Jason-3) and monitoring oceans up to 66° latitude.
Sentinel-6 is expected to provide improved geophysical parameters retrievals as a result of the use of a new technology for the design of its main payload, which is a radar altimeter named POSEIDON-4 and it will be the first altimeter able to operate in a continuous high-rate pulse mode, i.e. interleaved mode. Poseidon-4 interleaved mode foresees that between two transmitted pulses, an echo is received. The advantages given by the interleaved mode are twofold: firstly the number of single looks waveforms that are gathered for each Surface Sample (SS) on ground is increased, and secondly it allows the simultaneous production of low-resolution mode (LR) measurements on-board as well as the processing of high-resolution (HR) echoes on-ground.
In the framework of the development studies for the Sentinel-6 Poseidon-4, a L1B simulator is being devised to provide long scale test data set of L1B products to allow assessment of the expected end-to-end performances over longer periods of an orbit. Furthermore the simulator has been designed to be flexible enough to assist with studies into concepts for other possible future radar altimeter missions.
This abstract is aimed at presenting the concept and the architecture of the Sentinel-6 Poseidon-4 L1B simulator. Since the aim of the simulator is to support the performance evaluation rather than to provide a realistic and detailed simulation of the instrument behavior, the simulation concept has been guided by the purpose of producing large dataset of realistic L1b products, so that the following guidelines have been identified
- Model-based simulator: theoretical waveform models are used to emulate part of the physical acquisition chain (e.g. the acquisition timeline, the instrument characteristics) and the interaction with the sea surface;
- Model-based impairments: thermal noise and speckle contributions are added to the waveforms in order to emulate their impact and not simulating their physical generation process;
- On-ground L1 processing: the processing steps at L1 have their own contribution to the end-to-end mission performance, so that the L1 processing steps that are expected to have a direct impact on the quality of the L1B waveforms are replicated in the simulator;
- L1B product: the simulated L1B products will have the same format of the L1B products from the Sentinel-6 Posedon-4 Level1 GPP.
Sentinel-6 is expected to provide improved geophysical parameters retrievals as a result of the use of a new technology for the design of its main payload, which is a radar altimeter named POSEIDON-4 and it will be the first altimeter able to operate in a continuous high-rate pulse mode, i.e. interleaved mode. Poseidon-4 interleaved mode foresees that between two transmitted pulses, an echo is received. The advantages given by the interleaved mode are twofold: firstly the number of single looks waveforms that are gathered for each Surface Sample (SS) on ground is increased, and secondly it allows the simultaneous production of low-resolution mode (LR) measurements on-board as well as the processing of high-resolution (HR) echoes on-ground.
In the framework of the development studies for the Sentinel-6 Poseidon-4, a L1B simulator is being devised to provide long scale test data set of L1B products to allow assessment of the expected end-to-end performances over longer periods of an orbit. Furthermore the simulator has been designed to be flexible enough to assist with studies into concepts for other possible future radar altimeter missions.
This abstract is aimed at presenting the concept and the architecture of the Sentinel-6 Poseidon-4 L1B simulator. Since the aim of the simulator is to support the performance evaluation rather than to provide a realistic and detailed simulation of the instrument behavior, the simulation concept has been guided by the purpose of producing large dataset of realistic L1b products, so that the following guidelines have been identified
- Model-based simulator: theoretical waveform models are used to emulate part of the physical acquisition chain (e.g. the acquisition timeline, the instrument characteristics) and the interaction with the sea surface;
- Model-based impairments: thermal noise and speckle contributions are added to the waveforms in order to emulate their impact and not simulating their physical generation process;
- On-ground L1 processing: the processing steps at L1 have their own contribution to the end-to-end mission performance, so that the L1 processing steps that are expected to have a direct impact on the quality of the L1B waveforms are replicated in the simulator;
- L1B product: the simulated L1B products will have the same format of the L1B products from the Sentinel-6 Posedon-4 Level1 GPP.