Preliminary results of the global ocean tide derived from HY-2A radar altimeter data

The HY-2A satellite,which is equipped with a radar altimeter and was launched on August 16,2011,is the first Chinese marine dynamic environmental monitoring satellite.Extracting ocean tides is one of the important applications of the radar altimeter data.The radar altimeter data of the HY-2A satellite from November 1,2011 to August 16,2014 are used herein to extract global ocean tides.The constants representing the tidal constituents are extracted by HY-2A RA data with harmonic analysis based on the least squares method.Considering tide aliasing issues,the analysis of the alias periods and alias synodic periods of different tidal constituents shows that only the tidal constituents M_(2),N_(2),and K_(2)are retrieved precisely by the HY-2A RA data.The derived tidal constants of the tidal constituents M_(2),N_(2)and K_(2)are compared to those of tidal gauge data and the TPXO tide model results.The comparison between the derived results and the tidal gauge data shows that the RMSEs of the tidal amplitude and phase lag are 9.6 cm and 13.34°,2.4 cm and 10.47°,and 8.1 cm and 14.19°for tidal constituents M_(2),N_(2),and K_(2),respectively.The comparisons of the semidiurnal tides with the TPXO model results show that tidal constituents have good consistency with the TPXO model results.These findings confirm the good performance of HY-2A RA for retrieving semidiurnal tides in the global ocean.

Computations on the Earth Terrain Return of Pulse Doppler Radar Altimeter

Concerning the PDRA (pulse doppler radar altimeter) designing and evaluation, owing to that the specifications of PDRA should be adaptively fixed according to the ETR (earth terrain return), and that in certain stages of product evaluation of PDRA which means the designations of PDRA are successful or not, the usage of ETR are indispensable, so the terrain return from spherical earth is critically important. A complete analytic derivation of the antenna shot section model of PDRA and the bright section model constrained by pulse emitted from antenna are given. Furthermore, the doppler effect mode and the earth terrain RCF (radar crossing factor) model are constructively analyzed. Then, the computing methodology on PDRA, which are used to compute the scattering power, scattering doppler spectrum, and the scattering signal, is studied. Besides, in order to check the correctness and efficiency of the algorithm, computing examples of ETR (earth terrain return) under the supposing premises are furnished. Finally, the conclusion is drawn that the models and algorithm are rational, the computational precise is satisfactory, the cost of computing time is low.

Validation of Chinese HY-2 satellite radar altimeter significant wave height

Chinese Haiyang-2（HY-2） satellite is the first Chinese marine dynamic environment satellite. The dual-frequency （Ku and C band） radar altimeter onboard HY-2 has been working effective to provide operational significant wave height （SWH） for more than three years （October 1, 2011 to present）.We validated along-track Ku-band SWH data of HY-2 satellite against National Data Buoy Center （NDBC） in-situ measurements over a time period of three years from October 1, 2011 to September 30, 2014, the root mean square error （RMSE） and mean bias of HY-2 SWH is 0.38 m and （-0.13±0.35） m, respectively. We also did cross validation against Jason-2 altimeter SWH data, the RMSE and the mean bias is 0.36m and （-0.22±0.28） m, respectively. In order to compare the statistical results between HY-2 and Jason-2 satellite SWH data, we validated the Jason-2 satellite radar altimeter along-track Ku-band SWH data against NDBC measurements using the same method. The results demonstrate the validation method in this study is scientific and the RMSE and mean bias of Jason-2 SWH data is 0.26 m and （0.00±0.26） m, respectively. We also validated both HY-2 and Jason-2 SWH data every month, the mean bias of Jason-2 SWH data almost equaled to zero all the time, while the mean bias of HY-2 SWH data was no less than -0.31m before April 2013 and dropped to zero after that time. These results indicate that the statistical results for HY-2 altimeter SWH are reliable and HY-2 altimeter along-track SWH data were steady and of high quality in the last three years. The results also indicate that HY-2 SWH data have greatly been improved and have the same accuracy with Jason-2 SWH data after April, 2013. SWH data provided by HY-2 satellite radar altimeter are useful and acceptable for ocean operational applications.

Nonparametric estimations of the sea state bias for a radar altimeter

To estimate the sea state bias（SSB） for radar altimeter, two nonparametric models, including a Nadaraya-Watson（NW） kernel estimator and a local linear regression（LLR） estimator, are studied based on the Jason-2 altimeter data. Selecting from different combinations of the Gaussian kernel function, spherical Epanechnikov kernel function, a fixed bandwidth and a local adjustable bandwidth, it is observed that the LLR method with the spherical Epanechnikov kernel function and the local adjustable bandwidth is the optimal nonparametric model for the SSB estimation. The comparisons between the nonparametric and parametric models are conducted and the results show that the nonparametric model performs relatively better at high-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. This method has been applied to the HY-2A altimeter as well and the same conclusion can be obtained.

Assessment of reprocessed sea surface height measurements derived from HY-2A radar altimeter and its application to the observation of 2015–2016 El Nino

Haiyang-2A（HY-2A） is China＇s first ocean dynamic environment satellite and the radar altimeter is one of its main payloads. One of the main purposes of the radar altimeter is to measure the sea surface height（SSH）. The SSH determined from the altimeter range measurements includes some range and geophysical corrections. These corrections largely affect the accuracy of the SSH measurements. The range and the geophysical corrections are reprocessed and the altimeter waveforms in HY-2A sensor interim geophysical data set records（S-IGDR） are retracked from June 1, 2014 to June 14, 2014, and the accuracy of the reprocessed SSH measurements is evaluated.The methods of the range and geophysical corrections used to reprocess HY-2A altimeter data are validated by using these methods to reprocess the Jason-2 range and geophysical corrections and comparing the results with the range and geophysical corrections in Jason-2 geophysical dataset records（GDR） product. A crossover analysis is used to evaluate the accuracy of the reprocessed HY-2A SSH measurements. The standard deviation（STD） of the crossover SSH differences for HY-2A is around 4.53 cm while the STD of the SSH differences between HY-2A and Jason-2 is around 5.22 cm. The performance of the reprocessed HY-2A SSH measurements is significantly improved with respect to the SSH measurements derived from HY-2A interim geophysical dataset records（IGDR）product. The 2015–2016 El Ni？o has been the strongest El Ni？o event since 1997–1998. The range and the geophysical corrections in HY-2A IGDR are reprocessed and sea level anomalies are used to monitor the2015–2016 El Ni？o. The results show that the HY-2A altimeter can well observe the 2015–2016 El Ni？o.

An improved method of absolute calibration to satellite altimeter: A case study in the Yellow Sea, China

An improved absolute calibration technology based on indirect measurements was developed through two probative experiments, the performance of which was evaluated by applying the approach to in situ sea surface height （SSH） at the Tianheng Island （tidal gauge） and the satellite nadir （GPS buoy）. Using Geoid/MSS （mean sea surface） data, which accounted for a constant offset between nadir and onshore tidal gauge water levels, and TMD （tidal model driver）, which canceled out the time-varying offsets, nadir SSH （sea surface height） could be indirectly acquired at an onshore tidal gauge instead of from direct offshore observation. The approach extrapolated the onshore SSH out to the offshore nadir with an accuracy of （1.88±0.20） cm and a standard deviation of 3,3 cm, which suggested that the approach presented was feasible in absolute altimeter calibration/validation （Cal/Val）, and the approach enormously facilitated the obtaining SSH from the offshore nadir.

Preliminary marine gravity field from HY-2A/GM altimeter data

HY-2 A(Haiyang-2 A),launched in 2011,is the first ocean dynamic environment satellite of China and is equipped with a radar altimeter as one of the primary payloads.HY-2 A shifted the drift orbit in March 2016 and has been accumulating geodetic mission(GM)data for more than three years with 168-day cycle.In this paper,we present the preliminary gravity field inverted by the HY-2 A/GM data from March 2016 to December 2017 near Taiwan(21°–26°N,119°–123°E).The gravity anomaly is computed by Inverse Vening Meinesz(IVM)formula with a onedimensional FFT method during remove-restore procedure with the EGM2008 gravity model as the reference field.For comparison,CryoSat-2 altimeter data are used to inverse the gravity field near Taiwan Island by the same method.Comparing with the gravity field derived from CryoSat-2,a good agreement between the two data sets is found.The global ocean gravity models and National Geophysical Data Center(NGDC)shipboard gravity data also are used to assess the performance of HY-2 A/GM data.The evaluations show that HY-2 A and CryoSat-2 are at the same level in terms of gravity field recovery and the HY-2 A/GM altimeter-derived gravity field has an accuracy of 2.922 mGal.Therefore,we can believe that HY-2 A will be a new reliable data source for marine gravity field inversion and has the potentiality to improve the accuracy and resolution of the global marine gravity field.

Sea surface height measuring using InSAR altimeter

Satellite altimetry has been widely used in measuring ocean topography from space. The conventional altimeter system is the nadir radar altimeter system which has the limitations of one-dimensional measurement and is unable to get both high temporal and spatial resolution. The InSAR altimetry system using InSAR altimeter instead of nadir radar altimeter is an improvement which can get both high cross-track and along-track resolution and wide swath. However, the conventional SAR interferometry only can achieve meter level height accuracy. This paper focuses on a method of radar echo-tracking for InSAR altimeter system in order to correct the slant range measurements and finally to improve the height measurement accuracy to several centimeters＇ level. Radar slant range （from observed pixels to radar antenna） estimation error affects the height measurement accuracy badly, nevertheless not considered in the conventional SAR interferometry. The proposed method is ameliorated based on the traditional echo-model used in nadir radar altimeter system, focusing on the echo signals from observed pixels with different incident angles. Simulations of sea surface height measurements are performed in the last part of this paper, and the conclusions are drawn that, with corrected slant range, the accuracy of InSAR altimetry can be much better than the conventional SAR interferometry.

Feasibility of maintaining satellite altimetry calibration site based on qianliyan islet at the Yellow Sea

The calibration of the sea surface height(SSH)measured by satellite altimeters is essential to understand altimeter biases.Many factors affects the construction and maintenance of a permanent calibration site.In order to calibrate Chinese satellite altimetry missions,the feasibility of maintaining a calibration site based on the Qianliyan islet in Yellow Sea of China is taken into account.The related calibration facilities,such as the permanent tide gauge,GNSS reference station and meteorological station,were already operated by the Ministry of Natural Resources of China.The data could be fully used for satellite altimeter calibration with small fiscal expenditure.In addition,the location and marine environments of Qianliyan were discussed.Finally,we used the Jason-3 mission to check the possibility of calibration works.The result indicates that the brightness temperatures of three channels measured by microwave radiometer(MWR)and the derived wet tropospheric correction varies smoothly,which means the land contamination to MWR could be ignored.The high frequency waveforms at the Qianliyan site present no obvious difference from the normal waveforms received by satellite radar altimeter over the open ocean.In conclusion,the Qianliyan islet will not influence satellite altimetry observation.Following these analyses,a possible layout and mechanism of the Qianliyan calibration site are proposed.

Coastal bathymetry inversion using SAR-based altimetric gravity data:A case study over the South Sandwich Island

The global bathymetry models are usually of low accuracy over the coastline of polar areas due to the harsh climatic environment and the complex topography.Satellite altimetric gravity data can be a supplement and plays a key role in bathymetry modeling over these regions.The Synthetic Aperture Radar(SAR)altimeters in the missions like CryoSat-2 and Sentinel-3A/3B can relieve waveform contamination that existed in conventional altimeters and provide data with improved accuracy and spatial resolution.In this study,we investigate the potential application of SAR altimetric gravity data in enhancing coastal bathymetry,where the effects on local bathymetry modeling introduced from SAR altimetry data are quantified and evaluated.Furthermore,we study the effects on bathymetry modeling by using different scale factor calculation approaches,where a partition-wise scheme is implemented.The numerical experiment over the South Sandwich Islands near Antarctica suggests that using SARbased altimetric gravity data improves local coastal bathymetry modeling,compared with the model calculated without SAR altimetry data by a magnitude of 3:55 m within 10 km of offshore areas.Moreover,by using the partition-wise scheme for scale factor calculation,the quality of the coastal bathymetry model is improved by 7.34 m compared with the result derived from the traditional method.These results indicate the superiority of using SAR altimetry data in coastal bathymetry inversion.

Trace-Norm Regularized Multi-Task Learning for Sea State Bias Estimation

Sea state bias(SSB)is an important component of errors for the radar altimeter measurements of sea surface height(SSH).However,existing SSB estimation methods are almost all based on single-task learning(STL),where one model is built on the data from only one radar altimeter.In this paper,taking account of the data from multiple radar altimeters available,we introduced a multi-task learning method,called trace-norm regularized multi-task learning(TNR-MTL),for SSB estimation.Corresponding to each individual task,TNR-MLT involves only three parameters.Hence,it is easy to implement.More importantly,the convergence of TNR-MLT is theoretically guaranteed.Compared with the commonly used STL models,TNR-MTL can effectively utilize the shared information between data from multiple altimeters.During the training of TNR-MTL,we used the JASON-2 and JASON-3 cycle data to solve two correlated SSB estimation tasks.Then the optimal model was selected to estimate SSB on the JASON-2 and the HY-270-71 cycle intersection data.For the JSAON-2 cycle intersection data,the corrected variance(M)has been reduced by 0.60 cm^2 compared to the geophysical data records(GDR);while for the HY-2 cycle intersection data,M has been reduced by 1.30 cm^2 compared to GDR.Therefore,TNR-MTL is proved to be effective for the SSB estimation tasks.

The HY-2 satellite and its preliminary assessment

The HY-2 satellite was successfully launched on 16 August 2011.It carried four microwave instruments into space for operationally observing dynamic ocean environment parameters on a global scale.The HY-2 satellite altimeter provides sea surface height(SSH),significant wave height(SWH),sea surface wind(SSW)speed,and polar ice sheet elevation,while the HY-2 satellite scatterometer provides SSW fields.At the same time,other oceanic and atmospheric parameters such as sea surface temperature(SST)and wind speed,water vapor and liquid water content can also be obtained by its onboard scanning microwave radiometer.In this paper,we show the data processing methods of the HY-2 satellite’s payloads.The preliminary results show that wind vector,SSH,SWH,and SST conform to the designed technical specifications.