Rodriguez, E. ., JPL/CalTech, Pasadena, USA, ernesto.rodriguez@jpl.nasa.gov
Moller, D. ., JPL/CalTech, Pasadena, USA,
Pollard, B. ., JPL/CalTech, Pasadena, USA,

MAKING GLOBALLY CONSISTENT WATER LEVEL MEASUREMENTS

In this presentation, we review the feasibility of making centimetric accuracy globally consistent swath measurements of water level for both oceans and fresh water bodies. The feasibility of such a measurement must strike a fine balance between technological feasibility (and cost), orbit and sampling design, and understanding of the end-to-end error budget (including geophysical and technical limitations), and sophisticated calibration techniques. In the first part, we will present the measurement concept behind wide-swath altimetric/interferometric techniques and review the suite of instruments required to make the measurement and the technology trades which are involved in designing an optimal configuration. In the next section, we provide a detailed description of all the error sources which make up the measurement, and examine our current ability to deal with each of them. Finally, we conclude with the continuous calibration techniques which are required to obtain a globally consistent data set and present the accuracies expected for the proposed WatER/Hydrosphere Mapper mission.

Oral presentation

Presentation is given by student: No
Session #:006
Date: 03-05-2008
Time: 16:15