Jason-2 in DUACS: Updated System Description, First Tandem Results and Impact on Processing and Products

Abstract

For more than 13 years, the multisatellite DUACS system has been providing the altimetry community with Near Real Time and Delayed Time products ranging from reduced GDR (also known as CorrSSH) to along-track Sea Level Anomalies (SLA) and multimission Maps of Sea Level Anomalies (MSLA). A post-Jason-2 description of the DUACS system is given, with input data, processing and products, and a focus on the DT-2010 reprocessing involving a total of almost 60 years worth of altimetry data from GEOSAT to Jason-2.

Less than one month after launch, Jason-2 proved to be a strong asset for multisatellite applications as it was able to replace Jason-1 as the reference mission in DUACS. Furthermore, the new Jason-2/Jason-1 tandem configuration provides an unprecedented duo for mesoscale and circulation observation. More generally, the quality of Jason-2 has a large impact in DUACS on a number of fronts: in the continuity of the reference mission for climate applications exploiting DUACS products, in the new multi-reference orbit error reduction scheme, or for new metrics derived from a Degrees of Freedom of Signal analysis applied to the multimission mapping. This paper gives an overview of the many impacts of the integration of Jason-2 into DUACS.

Keywords:

• Jason-2
• DUACS
• multimission
• altimetry
• DFS
• cross-calibration
• reference mission
• Jason tandem

Acknowledgements

The DUACS system is a joint CLS/CNES system maintained and operated with support from the SALP project from CNES. It benefits from co-funding from the MyOcean FP7 project. (O/I)GDR input data are provided by CNES, ESA, Eumetsat, NASA and NOAA. DUACS benefits from technical contributions and altimetry expertise developed and sustained in the framework of CalVal, cross-calibration and other altimetry-related activities carried out for CNES (SALP project and PISTACH initiative), and ESA (Expert Support Laboratory contract, WOOPI and REAPER projects, Climate Change Initiative). The authors would like to thank Brian Beckley and the GSFC group for kindly providing consistently reprocessed T/P and GFO orbit solutions which were very helpful to the DT-2010 reprocessing.