Abstract's details
CryoSat mission status: products, science, and future evolutions
CoAuthors
Event: 2023 Ocean Surface Topography Science Team Meeting
Session: Science IV: Altimetry for Cryosphere and Hydrology
Presentation type: Type Poster
Contribution: PDF file
Abstract:
Launched in 2010, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) CryoSat mission was the first polar-orbiting satellite flying a SAR Interferometric altimeter dedicated to the cryosphere, with the objectives to monitor precise changes in the thickness of polar ice sheets and floating sea ice. After 13 years in orbit, CryoSat remains one of the most innovative radar altimeters in space and continues to deliver high-quality data, providing unique contributions to several Earth Science and applications domains.
Numerous CryoSat-based studies have been carried out over the last decade to optimize geophysical retrievals in ice-covered regions and over rivers and lakes. These innovations have been transposed into an operational framework to generate thematic products, so-called “Cryo-TEMPO”, enriching the CryoSat data portfolio and enabling the full scientific and operational exploitation of CryoSat data. Cryo-TEMPO provides easy-to-use products optimized for various thematic domains—the polar and coastal ocean, sea and land ice, and inland waters—including traceable uncertainties. This thematic approach has been recently adopted by Sentinel-3 and will be used by the upcoming Copernicus CRISTAL mission.
The CryoSat mission has been extended until the end of 2025 with the scope to achieve important scientific objectives and to extend the synergy with other missions by further strengthening international cooperation. Here, we report on the current mission status and new products, show recent scientific achievements, and present future challenges in polar and inland water altimetry.
Numerous CryoSat-based studies have been carried out over the last decade to optimize geophysical retrievals in ice-covered regions and over rivers and lakes. These innovations have been transposed into an operational framework to generate thematic products, so-called “Cryo-TEMPO”, enriching the CryoSat data portfolio and enabling the full scientific and operational exploitation of CryoSat data. Cryo-TEMPO provides easy-to-use products optimized for various thematic domains—the polar and coastal ocean, sea and land ice, and inland waters—including traceable uncertainties. This thematic approach has been recently adopted by Sentinel-3 and will be used by the upcoming Copernicus CRISTAL mission.
The CryoSat mission has been extended until the end of 2025 with the scope to achieve important scientific objectives and to extend the synergy with other missions by further strengthening international cooperation. Here, we report on the current mission status and new products, show recent scientific achievements, and present future challenges in polar and inland water altimetry.