Abstract's details
Sentinel-6 altimeter end-to-end simulator to assess global mission performance
CoAuthors
Event: 2016 SAR Altimetry Workshop
Session: Future missions, recommendations and round table
Presentation type: Type Poster
Contribution: not provided
Abstract:
The primary objective of the Sentinel-6, also called Jason-CS mission is to continue the Jason series of operational oceanography missions for the period 2020-2030. The main payload instrument of the mission is the radar altimeter Poseidon-4, successor of Poseidon-3A/3B carried on-board Jason-2 and Jason-3 satellites respectively. Among notable evolutions, the Poseidon-4 radar altimeter will operate in an innovative interleaved mode emitting pulses in continuous and with a high pulse repetition frequency (9kHz). This will allow to process Low Resolution Mode (LRM) in a conventional way and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) mode simultaneously. Three different telemetry data will be generated on board and four level-1B products are planned to be produced by the ground telemetry processing: the well-known LRM & SAR products, and two innovative experimental products.
In order to assess the future performances of the Sentinel-6/Poseidon-4 mission and better understand the various specificities of processing (Doppler ambiguities, on board Range Migration Correction, unequal range bin sampling and resolution), CLS and CNES are developing an end-to-end software simulator dedicated to this mission. It consists of three main units: the scene and pulses generation, the on-board and ground processing. A full description of the architecture of the Sentinel-6 altimeter simulator and its major characteristics are given in this paper.
This numerical tool will allow to simulate and generate the four level-1B products as specified by the mission. Besides, different types of surface may be selected, whether for open ocean studies (wave generation from Elfouhaily spectra, swell conditions, MSS/SLA consideration, use of real Wave Watch III spectra...) or particular analyses in coastal and continental areas. The major asset of the Sentinel-6 simulator will be its capability to significantly reduce the computation time of the simulation, thanks to the use of innovative and powerful simulation processes. This key benefit will permit to process data segment longer than 1000km.
In order to assess the future performances of the Sentinel-6/Poseidon-4 mission and better understand the various specificities of processing (Doppler ambiguities, on board Range Migration Correction, unequal range bin sampling and resolution), CLS and CNES are developing an end-to-end software simulator dedicated to this mission. It consists of three main units: the scene and pulses generation, the on-board and ground processing. A full description of the architecture of the Sentinel-6 altimeter simulator and its major characteristics are given in this paper.
This numerical tool will allow to simulate and generate the four level-1B products as specified by the mission. Besides, different types of surface may be selected, whether for open ocean studies (wave generation from Elfouhaily spectra, swell conditions, MSS/SLA consideration, use of real Wave Watch III spectra...) or particular analyses in coastal and continental areas. The major asset of the Sentinel-6 simulator will be its capability to significantly reduce the computation time of the simulation, thanks to the use of innovative and powerful simulation processes. This key benefit will permit to process data segment longer than 1000km.