Zusammenfassung
Validation, including the determination of measurement
uncertainties, is a key component of a satellite mission.
Without adequate validation of the geophysical retrieval
methods, of the processing algorithms and the
corrections , the computed geophysical parameters
derived from satellite measurements cannot be used
with confidence. In this context, and in anticipation of
the operational delivery of dedicated inland water
products based on Copernicus Sentinel-3
measurements, the ESA St3TART project (Sentinel-3
Topography mission Assessment through Reference
Techniques), prepared a roadmap and provided a
preliminary proof of concept for the operational
provision of Fiducial Reference Measurements (FRM) in
support of the validation activities of the Copernicus
Sentinel-3 (S3) radar altimeter over land surfaces of
interest (inland water bodies, sea ice and land ice).
In the framework of this project, the activities related to
hydrology include a review of existing methodologies
and associated ground instrumentation for validating
and monitoring the performance and stability of the
Sentinel-3 altimeter measurement via FRM.
Methodologies and procedures have been defined
considering the errors and uncertainties coming from
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the measurements of in-situ sensors, satellite
measurements and the environment of the validation
site. Based on these protocols and procedures, a
roadmap has been prepared for the operational
provision of FRM to support the validation activities and
foster exploitation of the Sentinel-3 SAR altimeter Land
data products, over inland waters.
Then, field campaign implementation and realization
have been performed as demonstrators based on the
procedures and protocols defined in the roadmap.
In this project, a comprehensive review of altimeter
uncertainties over inland water bodies was carried out
on the basis of a literature review, leading to the
identification of the different sources of error with their
associated uncertainty level. A full review of all in-situ
sensors that have been used for many years for Cal/Val
activities for inland waters has also been performed,
combined with an analysis of innovative sensors that
can fulfil the needs and potentially be used in the
framework of the St3TART project. Cal/Val “super-sites”
have been carefully selected to implement the roadmap
for operational FRM provision. Several campaigns have
been performed on the different super sites. In addition
of the super sites, opportunity sites from existing
national hydrological networks have been studied to
significantly increase the number of FRM. Finally,
comparison with Sentinel-3 data and FRM have been
conducted on all the super sites and the opportunity
sites. We propose here to present the final results of
these hydrology activities.
A Follow-on of this project has been published by ESA.
This new project aims to implement the RoadMap
defined in the St3TART project. The consortium that
worked on St3TART answered to this call. If the project
is won, results from the regular production of FRM will
be presented.
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