Coastal Altimetry with the Ka Band

The Saral/AltiKa mission, launched in February 2013, is the first oceanographic altimeter using a Ka-band frequency. The use of the Ka-band is expected to supply more accurate measurements (better signal/noise ratio, improvement of the spatial and vertical resolution) enabling a better observation of ices, coastal areas, continental water bodies as well as the waves’ height. We will revisit the problem of extending satellite altimetric products into the shelf and coastal seas with these new data, and consider three specific points:
● AltiKa/Saral SSH altimeter measurements, as compared with traditional Ku altimeter data;
● The characteristics of altimeter waveforms near the coast;
● Editing criteria for Ka-band altimetry.
● Spatial scales observed (through some examples of physical processes).

This study will present the results of two regional test cases with very different weather and ocean conditions: the northwestern Mediterranean Sea and along the coast of Vietnam. Both the conventional 1-Hz data (i.e a resolution of ~6-7 km along the track) and the original high-rate altimetry data (40 Hz i.e. ~150m for AltiKa, a lower 20 Hz frequency i.e. ~300m in the case of Jason missions) will be analysed.