Integrating Jason-2 into a Multiple-Altimeter Climate Data Record

Abstract

The observation strategy for satellite radar altimetry includes both inter-satellite calibration and calibration with a network of tide gauges. These cross-comparisons are valuable tools for identifying sources of error and for establishing progress toward a sea level climate data record.

Demonstrating the capabilities of the Radar Altimetry Database System (RADS) as a platform for climate data records, we show comparisons of Jason-2 with Jason-1 and Envisat that illustrate errors associated with solar intensity and tracker bias. A multi-mission tide gauge calibration shows a drift in the 17-year sea level record of –0.04 ± 0.4 mm/yr.

Keywords:

• Mean sea level
• Jason-2
• satellite altimetry
• calibration
• verification

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Gary Mitchum for the tide gauge calibration runs and valuable discussions and Frank Lemoine and Nikita Zelensky for providing the GSFC orbits. We also thank Steve Nerem and a second reviewer for helpful suggestions to improve the manuscript. This investigation was supported in part by the NOAA Office of Climate Observations program and the NASA Ocean Surface Topography program. The views, opinions, and findings contained in this report are those of the authors, and should not be construed as an official NOAA or U.S. Government position, policy, or decision.