Absolute Calibration of SARAL/AltiKa in Kavaratti During its Initial Calibration-Validation Phase

K.N. Babu (1) , A. K. Shukla (1) , A.B. Suchandra (1) , S.V.V. Arun Kumar , Pascal Bonnefond (2, 3) , L. Testut (4, 5) , P. Mehra (6) , O. Laurain (2)

1 SAC - Space Applications Centre [Ahmedabad]
2 GEOAZUR 7329 - Géoazur
3 OCA - Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur
4 LIENSs - LIttoral ENvironnement et Sociétés
5 OLVAC - Océan du Large et Variabilité Climatique
6 NIO - CSIR National Institute of Oceanography [India]

The Kavaratti calibration-validation site in India at Lakshadweep Sea has been improved to carry out absolute calibration of SARAL/AltiKa altimeter. This site is augmented with a down-looking radar gauge and a permanent GPS receiver. The Kavaratti Island is located near a repeating ground track of SARAL/AltiKa and ∼12 km away from the point of closest measurement of Jason-2, SARAL/AltiKa crossover point. Additionally, the altimeter and radiometer footprints do not experience any land contamination. This article aims at presenting the initial calibration-validation results over cycles 001-011 of AltiKa. The absolute sea surface height bias has been found to be −48 mm at Kavaratti calibration site. In this preliminary study the effect of environmental variables such as winds and pressure are not considered in calculations.

Domaines: Sciences de la Terre

K.N. Babu, A. K. Shukla, A.B. Suchandra, S.V.V. Arun Kumar, Pascal Bonnefond, et al.. Absolute Calibration of SARAL/AltiKa in Kavaratti During its Initial Calibration-Validation Phase . Marine Geodesy, 2015, 38 (1), pp.156-170. ⟨10.1080/01490419.2015.1045639⟩. ⟨hal-01349105⟩