Author(s): Lionel Zawadzki; Nicolas Gasnier; Roger Fjortoft; Claire Pottier; Damien Desroches; Santiago Pena Luque; Nicolas Picot; Therese Barroso
Linked Author(s):
Keywords: No Keywords
Abstract: Satellite altimetry has been used since the early 90s to estimate water levels and their temporal variations, enabling multiple breakthroughs in oceanography and providing hydrologists with valuable data on large lakes and rivers. The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite [1], launched in December 2022, is a CNES-NASA joint project, with contributions from UKSA and CSA. SWOT represents a major step forward in space altimetry as it is based on interferometric SAR imagery. In comparison to conventional nadir altimetry, which only provides point data along the ground track, SWOT provides two-dimensional images with a spatial resolution of the order of tenths or hundreds of meters over two 60-km-wide swaths. This mission will significantly improve both offshore and coastal ocean observations, and enable global measurements of the water level and extent of rivers, lakes, wetlands and flooded areas, with two or more observations per 21-day repeat period. This two-dimensional and multi-temporal information make it possible to compute water storage changes of lakes and reservoirs, and to estimate river discharge [2]. It will thus provide the most comprehensive view ever of the dynamics of the Earth’s freshwater bodies.
Year: 2024