Marine Geodesy · 2003 · 24 citations · 0 references
Natural SciencesEarth SciencesGeophysicsGeodesyMarine GeophysicsRemote SensingGeophysical Data ProcessingInstrument ValidationMarine GeodesySatellite Data CalibrationSatellite Data ValidationSatellite InstrumentationCalibration Error BudgetError Budget AnalysisGeophysical Data AnalysisGeophysical Data ValidationGeophysical SurveyingInstrument Performance CharacterizationMeasurement System VerificationSatellite Validation
The Jason-1 satellite was launched on 7 December 2001 with the primary objective of continuing the high accuracy time series of altimeter measurements that began with the TOPEX/Poseidon mission in 1992. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to validate the performance of the Jason-1 measurement system, and to verify that its error budget is at least at the same level as that of the TOPEX/Poseidon mission. The article reviews the main components of the Jason-1 altimetric error budget from instrument characterization to the geophysical use of the data. Using the Interim Geophysical Data Records (16DR) that were distributed to the Jason-1 Science Working Team during the verification phase of the mission, it is shown that the Jason-1 mission is performing well enough to continue studies of the large-scale features of the ocean, and especially to continue time series of mean sea-level variations with an accuracy comparable to TOPEX/Poseidon.