Lettenmaier, D. P., University of Washington, Seattle, USA, dennisl@u.washington.edu

IMPLICATIONS OF THE NRC DECADAL REVIEW FOR A SWATH ALTIMETRY MISSION

In 2004, the National Research Council initiated a Decadal Survey of Earth Science and Applications from Space (ESAS) to generate consensus recommendations from the earth science community for future spaceborne earth observation satellite missions. The review was structured around seven thematically organized study panels, and an executive committee which was responsible for synthesizing the results of deliberations of each of the thematic panels into an overall set of recommendations. Of the thematic panels, the panel on Water Resources and the Global Hydrologic Cycle was most directly involved in considerations of a possible swath altimetry mission (recognizing that other panels, notable climate, had an interest as well). In early 2007, the final ESAS report recommended 17missions over the time frame through 2020. Among the mission concepts considered by the water cycle panel, swath altimetry was the second priority (soil moisture was the highest). The high priority afforded a swath altimetry mission was mostly because a) it would provide observations of the dynamics of inland waters (lakes, reservoirs, rivers, and wetlands) at spatial and temporal scales that have never before been available, and b) it would produce information about near-coastal circulation, eddies in the open ocean, and bathymetry that cannot be provided by current generation track altimeters. Implications of the ESAS recommendations to planning of a swath altimetry mission are further discussed.

Oral presentation

Presentation is given by student: No
Session #:006
Date: 03-05-2008
Time: 16:00