Analysis and Inter-Calibration of Wet Path Delay Datasets to Compute the Wet Tropospheric Correction for CryoSat-2 over Ocean

Unlike most altimetric missions, CryoSat-2 is not equipped with an onboard microwave radiometer (MWR) to provide wet tropospheric correction (WTC) to radar altimeter measurements, thus, relying on a model-based one provided by the European Center for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). In the ambit of ESA funded project CP4O, an improved WTC for CryoSat-2 data over ocean is under development, based on a data combination algorithm (DComb) through objective analysis of WTC values derived from all existing global-scale data types. The scope of this study is the analysis and inter-calibration of the large dataset of total column water vapor (TCWV) products from scanning MWR aboard Remote Sensing (RS) missions for use in the WTC computation for CryoSat-2. The main issues regarding the computation of the WTC from all TCWV products are discussed. The analysis of the orbital parameters of CryoSat-2 and all other considered RS missions, their sensor characteristics and inter-calibration is presented, providing an insight into the expected impact of these datasets on the WTC estimation. The most suitable approach for calculating the WTC from TCWV is investigated. For this type of application, after calibration with respect to an appropriate reference, two approaches were found to give very similar results, with root mean square differences of 2 mm

Validation of Sentinel-3a Sral Coastal Sea Level Data at High Posting Rate: 80Hz

Altimetry data of two and a half years (June 2016-November 2018) of Sentinel 3A SRAL were validated at the sampling frequency of 80 Hz. The study areas are three coastal sites in Spain: Huelva (HU) (Gulf of Cadiz), Barcelona (BA), and Bilbao (BI). Two tracks were selected in each site: one ascending and one descending. Data were validated using in situ tide gauge (TG) data provided by the Spanish Puertos del Estado. In the 5 to 20 km segment, the results were 6-8 cm (rmse) and 0.7-0.8 (r) for all the tracks. The 0 to 5 km segment was also analyzed in detail to study the land effect on the altimetry data quality. The results showed that the track orientation, the angle of intersection with the coast, and the land topography concur to determine the nearest distance to the coast at which the data retain a similar level of accuracy than in the 5 to 20 km segment. This distance of good quality to shore reaches a minimum of 3 km for the tracks at HU and the descending track at BA

Tendance et variabilité de la vapeur d'eau atmosphérique : un enjeu pour l'étude du niveau moyen océanique

La mesure du niveau de la mer par altimétrie satellitaire est perturbée par la présence de vapeur d'eau dans l'atmosphère. Un radiomètre micro-onde, sur les missions altimétriques, est chargé de corriger les mesures de ces perturbations. Les exigences quant à la qualité de cette correction, appelée correction troposphérique humide, sont particulièrement fortes pour l'étude des changements climatiques. Cette thèse a pour objet l'étude des corrections troposphériques humides utilisées dans le cadre des missions altimétriques Jason-1 et Envisat. L'objectif est de caractériser les incertitudes liées à la correction et d'identifier les potentielles anomalies présentes. L'étude faire ressortir une potentielle dérive dans l'étalonnage du radiomètre de la mission Jason-1 après 2008. Pour la mission Envisat, l'analyse met en avant des biais régionaux à l'approche des côtes. Ces derniers sont probablement liés au traitement de la donnée radiométrique.Measurements of the sea surface height are disturbed by the presence of water vapor in the atmosphere. A microwave radiometer, on altimetric missions, is used to correct the measurements from theses disturbances. Requirements on the quality of this correction, called the wet tropospheric correction, are stringent for the survey of climate changes. This thesis concerns the monitoring of the wet tropospheric correction used in the altimetry missions, Jason-1 and Envisat. The aim is to characterize uncertainties related to this correction and to identify potential anomalies. The analysis brings out a potential drift in the radiometer used on Jason-1, after 2008. For the Envisat missions, the presence of biases near coastlines suggests processing related issues

The gulf of cadiz as a natural laboratory for the validation and exploitation of coastal altimetry and model data

Hydrodynamic models and satellite altimetry can be complementary tools for the study of sea level variations. Nowadays, users of these tools demand high quality products in coastal zones. In this sense, this doctoral dissertation focusses on the validation of innovative products that entail an advance in the understanding of sea level variation in coastal areas. The study was carried out in the Gulf of Cadiz (GoC), an important region that connects the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, although other study areas were also used to strengthen the analysis. The research was performed using: in-situ data, sea level altimetry measurements from Sentinel-3 SRAL, and observations from a hydrodynamic model implemented in the main study area. The in-situ data were used to validate the altimetry measurements, as well as to calibrate and validate the numerical model. Different specific objectives were proposed. The first was to determine the quality of altimetric data in coastal areas from the new Sentinel-3 space mission. Altimetry data of Sentinel-3A SRAL (S3A) were validated at the sampling frequency of 80 Hz. The data were obtained from the European Space Agency (ESA) Grid Processing On Demand (GPOD) service over three coastal sites in Spain: Huelva (GoC), Barcelona (Western Mediterranean Sea), and Bilbao (Bay of Biscay). Two tracks were selected at each site: one ascending and one descending. Data were validated using in-situ tide gauge (TG) data provided by the Spanish Puertos del Estado. The altimetry Sea Level Anomaly (SLA) time series were obtained using the corrections available in GPOD. The validation was performed using two statistical parameters, the Pearson correlation coefficient (r) and the root mean square error (rmse). In the 5–20 km segment with respect to the coastline, the results obtained were 6–8 cm (rmse) and 0.7–0.8 (r) for all of the tracks. The 0–5 km segment was also analysed in detail to study the effect of land on the quality of altimetry data. Results showed that the track orientation, the angle of intersection with the coast, and the land topography concur to determine the nearest distance to the coast at which the data retain a similar level of accuracy than in the 5–20 km segment. This ‗distance of good quality‘ to shore reaches a minimum of 3 km for the tracks at Huelva and the descending track at Barcelona. In addition, altimetry sea level data of Sentinel-3A and Sentinel-3B SRAL (S3A and S3B) were also validated at the sampling frequency of 80 Hz. Two tracks of S3A and two of S3B were selected at seven different coasts around the Iberian Peninsula. The altimetry SLA time series obtained were compared with TG in-situ data using the standard deviation of the difference (sdd) and the normalized sdd (sdd_n). Two tidal models were used: TPXO8 and TPXO9. They were previously validated with in-situ data and then used in the S3 assessment. Contrary to expectations, a more current version of the tide model did not always lead to improvements for all of the coasts studied. The same data availability and accuracy results (mean sdd <9cm) were obtained for both satellites, as the radar altimeter on-board S3A and S3B are identical instruments. The sdd_n results were generally ranged between 0.1 and 0.25 cm, higher values were obtained in coastal areas with a complex hydrodynamic. The second specific objective was to implement the Delft3D model in the estuary of the Guadalquivir River and part of the GoC continental shelf with the aim of studying the influence of its discharges on the sea level variability. Details of the Delft3D FLOW module implementation are given in the manuscript. The model was calibrated and validated along the river estuary comparing the output with in-situ observations of water level and current velocities during normal and high-discharge events. In order to obtain the best possible adjustment, the friction coefficient and bathymetry were used as adjustment parameters. The determination coefficients attained mean values of R2= 0.9 and R2=0.8, for calibration and validation, respectively. Moreover, the model was calibrated for the continental shelf during normal discharge conditions using data from three current meters, obtaining good correlation results (rmse= 3.0 cm·s -1 and R2=0.7, on average). The model simulations were able to reproduce the low salinity plume-induced over-elevations at the mouth of the estuary and its adjacent inner shelf during periods of high river discharge from the head dam (> 400 m3 ·s -1 ). These over-elevations were also identified in a qualitative comparison with altimetry data. Despite the good results obtained, there are some improvements that could be made for future work: including wind, coupling the wave module, updating the bathymetry, etc. The aim of this thesis last section was to apply the new Fully Focused SAR (FF SAR) processing technique for the Sentinel-3 altimetry signal. The accuracy and precision of this novel product were analysed in order to provide the best quality product close to the coast (0-5 km track segment). FF SAR processing is similar to SAR altimetry, but with an unprecedented high along-track resolution which goes up to the theoretical limit equal to half the antenna length (~0.5 m). Two FF SAR algorithms still in development were used in this work: FF SAR Back Projection (BP) (S3 prototype version of Kleinherenbrink et al., 2020), and FF SAR Omega-Kappa (WK) (Guccione et al., 2018), as well as different retracking algorithms. Two tracks from Sentinel-3A and two from Sentinel-3B were processed, at 80 Hz. The products were validated by comparing time series of SLA with those obtained from a tide gauge in the Gulf of Cadiz. The accuracy was analysed using the Percentage of Cycles for High Correlation (PCHC) and the standard deviation of the difference (sdd); and the precision was determined by calculating the along-track noise. FF SAR and unfocused SAR products were compared. The results showed improvements using Adaptative Leading Edge Subwaveform (ALES+) retracker for unfocused SAR, although FF SAR BP with ALES+ was the most precise product for all the tracks. In addition, highly accurate SLA measurements were also obtained with FF SAR products. The greatest advantage of FF SAR is that it produces good quality data closer to the coast (1-2 km) than unfocused SAR (3-4 km). Finally, these results highlight the potential of the implementation of validated altimetry data and hydrodynamic models in sea level studies. Furthermore, the methodology described here can be useful to validate altimetry data, as well as to implement the Delft3D model in other coastal areas

Contributions to GNSS-R earth remote sensing from nano-satellites

Premi extraordinari doctorat UPC curs 2015-2016, àmbit de CiènciesGlobal Navigation Satellite Systems Reflectometry (GNSS-R) is a multi-static radar using navigation signals as signals of opportunity. It provides wide-swath and improved spatio-temporal sampling over current space-borne missions. The lack of experimental datasets from space covering signals from multiple constellations (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, Beidou) at dual-band (L1 and L2) and dual-polarization (Right Hand Left Hand Circular Polarization: RHCP and LHCP), over the ocean, land and cryosphere remains a bottleneck to further develop these techniques. 3Cat-2 is a 6 units (3 x 2 elementary blocks of 10 x 10 x 10 cm3) CubeSat mission ayming to explore fundamentals issues towards an improvement in the understanding of the bistatic scattering properties of different targets. Since geolocalization of specific reflections points is determined by the geometry only, a moderate pointing accuracy is still required to correct for the antena pattern in scatterometry measurements. 3Cat-2 launch is foreseen for the first quarter 2016 into a Sun-Synchronous orbit of 510 km height using a Long March II D rocket. This Ph.D. Thesis represents the main contributions to the development of the 3Cat-2 GNSS-R Earth observation mission (6U CubeSat) including a novel type of GNSS-R technique: the reconstructed one. The desing, development of the platform, and a number of ground-based, airborne and stratospheric balloon experiments to validate the technique and to optimize the instrument. In particular, the main contributions of this Ph.D. thesis are: 1) A novel dual-band Global Navigation Satellite Systems Reflectometer that uses the P(Y) and C/A signals scattered over the sea surface to perform highly precise altimetric measurements (PYCARO). 2) The first proof-of-concept of PYCARO was performed during two different ground-based field experiments over a dam and over the sea under different surface roughness conditions. 3) The scattering of GNSS signals over a water surface has been studied when the receiver is at low height, as for GNSS-R coastal altimetry applications. The precise determination of the local sea level and wave state from the coast can provide useful altimetry and wave information as "dry" tide and wave gauges. In order to test this concept an experiment has been conducted at the Canal d'Investigació i Experimentació Marítima (CIEM) wave channel for two synthetic "sea" states. 4) Two ESA-sponsored airborne experiments were perfomed to test the precision and the relative accuracy of the conventional GNSS-R. 5) The empirical results of a GNSS-R experiment on-board the ESA-sponsored BAXUS 17 stratospheric balloon campaign performed North of Sweden over boreal forests showed that the power of the reflected signals is nearly independent of the platform height for a high coherent integration time. 6) An improved version of the PYCARO payload was tested in Octover 2014 for the second time during the ESA-sposored BEXUS-19,. This work achieved the first ever dual-frequency, multi-constellation GNSS-R observations over boreal forests and lakes using GPS, GLONASS and Galileo signals. 7) The first-ever dual-frequency multi-constellation GNSS-R dual-polarization measurements over boreal forests and lakes were obtained from the stratosphere during the BEXUS 19 using the PYCARO reflectometer operated in closed-loop mode.Global Navigation Satellite Systems Reflectometry (GNSS-R) es una técnica de radar multi-estático que usa señales de radio-navegación como señales de oportunidad. Esta técnica proporciona "wide-swath" y un mejor sampleado espacio-temporal en comparación con las misiones espaciales actuales. La falta de datos desde el espacio proporcionando señales de múltiples constelaciones (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, Beidou) en doble banda (L1 y L2) y en doble polarización (RHCP y LHCP) sobre océano, tierra y criosfera continua siendo un problema por solucionar. 3Cat-2 es un cubesat de 6 unidades con el objetivo de explorar elementos fundamentales para mejorar el conocimiento sobre el scattering bi-estático sobre diferentes medios dispersores. Dado que la geolocalización de puntos de reflexión específicos está determinada solo por geometría, es necesario un requisito moderado de apuntamiento para corregir el diagrama de antena en aplicaciones de dispersometría. El lanzamiento del 3Cat-2 será en Q2 2016 en una órbitra heliosíncrona usando un cohete Long March II D. Esta tesis representa las contribuciones principales al desarrollo del satélite 3Cat2 para realizar observación de la tierra con GNSS-R incluyendo una nueva técnica: "the reconstructed-code GNSS-R". El diseño, desarrollo de la plataforma y un número de experimentos en tierra, desde avión y desde globo estratosférico para validar la técnica y optimizar el instrumento han sido realizados. En particular, las contribuciones de esta Ph.D. son: 1) un novedoso Global Navigation Satellite Systems Reflectometer que usa las señales P(Y) y C/A después de ser dispersadas sobre la superficie del mar para realizar medidas altimétricas muy precisas. (PYCARO). 2) La primera prueba de concepto de PYCARO se hizo en dos experimentos sobre un pantano y sobre el mar bajo diferentes condiciones de rugosidad. 3) La disperión de las señales GNSS sobre una superfice de agua ha sido estudiada para bajas altitudes para aplicaciones GNSS-R altimétricas de costa. La determinación precisa del nivel local del mar y el estado de las olas desde la costa puede proporcionar información útil de altimetría e información de olas. Para hacer un test de este concepto un experimento en el Canal d'Investigació i Experimentació Marítima (CIEM) fue realizado para dos estados sintéticos de rugosidad. 4) Dos experimentos en avión con esponsor de la ESA se realizaron para estudiar la preción y la exactitud relativa de cGNSS-R. 5) Los resultados empíricos del experimento GNSS-R en BEXUS 17 con esponsor de la ESA realizado en el norte de Suecia sobre bosques boreales mostró que la potencia reflejada de las señales es independiente de la altitud de la plataforma para un tiempo de integración coherente muy alto. 6) Una versión mejorada del PYCARO fue testeada en octubre del 2014 por segunda vez durante el BEXUS 19 que también fue patrocidado por la ESA. Este trabajo proporcionó las primeras medidas GNSS-R sobre bosques boreales en doble frecuencia usando varias constelaciones GNSS. 7) Las primeras medidas polarimétricas (RHCP y LHCP) de GNSS-R sobre bosques boreales también fueron conseguidas durante el experimento BEXUS 19.Award-winningPostprint (published version

La variabilité régionale du niveau de la mer

Au cours du XXème siècle, les mesures marégraphiques ont permis d'estimer la hausse du niveau de la mer global à 1.7 mm.a-1. Depuis deux décennies, les observations faites par les satellites altimétriques indiquent une hausse du niveau de la mer plus rapide, de 3.2 mm. a-1 sur la période 1993-2011. Grâce à leur couverture quasi-globale, les observations spatiales ont aussi révélé une forte variabilité régionale dans la hausse du niveau de la mer qui dépasse de beaucoup la hausse moyenne globale dans de nombreuses régions du globe. Cette composante régionale qui s'ajoute à la hausse globale pour donner le niveau de la mer total local, est essentielle dans l'étude des impacts de la hausse du niveau de la mer sur les régions côtières et les îles basses. Dans cette thèse, nous analysons les observations de la variabilité régionale de la hausse du niveau de la mer, nous proposons une reconstruction de cette variabilité régionale depuis 1950 (i.e. avant l'avènement de l'altimétrie spatiale) et nous étudions ses causes et ses origines. Tout d'abord, nous proposons une reconstruction de la variabilité régionale du niveau de la mer dans le passé (avant la période altimétrique) en combinant des données marégraphiques avec les structures spatiales propres de l'océan déduites des modèles d'océan. Cette méthode permet de reconstruire le niveau de la mer en 2 dimensions depuis 1950, sur la majeure partie du globe, avec une résolution proche de celle de l'altimétrie spatiale. Ensuite, nous appliquons la méthode de reconstruction pour estimer la variabilité régionale de la hausse du niveau de la mer passée dans trois régions sensibles au réchauffement climatique : le Pacifique tropical, la mer Méditerranée et l'océan Arctique. Nous en déduisons pour ces régions la hausse totale ( régionale plus moyenne globale) du niveau de la mer local au cours des dernières décennies. Pour les sites où l'on dispose de mesures du mouvement de la croûte terrestre, nous évaluons la hausse local du niveau de la mer relatif (i.e. hausse du niveau de la mer totale plus mouvement de la croûte local) depuis 1950. Le but est de permettre les études de l'impact local de la hausse du niveau de la mer aux échelles climatiques. Enfin, nous analysons l'origine de la variabilité régionale de la hausse du niveau de la mer pour déterminer si elle est due à l'activité anthropique ou si elle résulte de la variabilité naturelle du système climatique. Nous nous focalisons sur le Pacifque tropical qui est marqué par une très forte variabilité régionale de la hausse du niveau de la mer depuis 1993. Grâce a la reconstruction du niveau de la mer depuis 1950, nous montrons que cette variabilité régionale récente (17 dernières années) n'est pas stationnaire dans le temps mais qu'elle fluctue en lien avec une basse fréquence du mode de variabilité ENSO. Avec les modèles de climat du projet CMIP3, nous montrons de plus que cette variabilité régionale est essentiellement d'origine naturelle (variabilité interne du système climatique) et que l'impact anthropique y est trop faible pour l'instant pour y être détecté.Over the XXth century, tide gauge records indicate a rise in global sea level of 1.7 mm.a-1. For the past two decades, satellite altimetry data indicate a faster sea level rise of 3.2 mm.a-1 (period 1993-2011). Thanks to its global coverage, they also reveal a strong regional variability in sea level rise that is several times bigger than the global rise in many regions of the world. This regional signal, which must be added to the global sea level rise to compute the total sea level signal, is essential when assessing the potential impacts of sea level rise in coastal areas and low lying islands. In this thesis, we analyse the observed regional variability in sea level rise from satellite altimetry (since 1993), we propose a reconstruction of the past regional variability since 1950 (i.e. prior to altimetry) and we discuss its causes (thermal expansion of the ocean plus land ice loss) and origins (from natural or anthropogenic origin). First, we propose a reconstruction of the sea level variations for the past decades (before the altimetry era) by combining tide gauge records with the principal spatial structures of the ocean deduced from ocean general circulation models. This method enables to reconstruct the 2 dimensional sea level variations since 1950 with a spatial coverage and resolution similar to the satellite altimetry ones. In the second part of this thesis, the reconstruction method is applied to estimate the past regional variability in three regions which are particularly vulnerable to sea level rise: the tropical Pacific, the Mediterranean sea and the Arctic ocean. For each region, the reconstruction gives an estimation of the total (regional component plus global mean) 2-dimensional sea level rise over the past decades. For the sites where vertical crustal motion monitoring is available, we compute as well the total relative sea level (i.e. total sea level rise plus the local vertical crustal motion) since 1950. The objective is to provide estimates of the relative local sea level rise at climatic time scales to allow further studies on the coastal impacts of sea level rise. In the last part of this thesis, the question of the origins of the regional variability in sea level rise is addressed. We examine whether the regional variability in observed sea level rise since 1993 is a consequence of the anthropogenic activity or if it results essentially from the natural variability of the climate system. We focus on the Tropical Pacific where the regional variability in sea level rise is particularly strong since 1993. On the basis of the reconstruction of the sea level variations since 1950, we show that the recent regional variability in sea level rise observed by satellite (over the last 17 years) in this region is not stationnary. It fluctuates with time, following some low frequency of the ENSO climate mode of variability. With the CMIP3 climate models, we show that this regional variability is dominated by the natural variability of the climate system (essentially by the internal variability of the climate system) and that the signature of the anthropogenic activity is still too weak in this region to be detected