Analysis of kinetic energy and structure functions from along-track and crossover altimeter data

Author:

Don Chambers - (University Of South Florida, Tampa)

Co-Investigator(s):

Dr. Liang, Xinfeng (University Of South Florida, Tampa)
Prof. Galperin, Boris (University Of South Florida, Tampa)

Abstract:

The position of the satellite in satellite altimetry directly effects the accuracy of the measurement of sea surface height. A radial error of 1 cm in positioning is a one cm error in the sea surface height. Over the years, our team has driven the errors in precise orbit determination (POD) of altimetry satellites down to the sub-cm level. We wish to continue our quest to improve precision orbit determination with a focus on GPS data for altimetry missions, which started Topex/Poseidon and continued through JASON-1 and JASON-2. We will continue to improve our force modeling and data processing techniques applying them to both historical data and the upcoming JASON-3 satellite. For JASON-3 we will perform the necessary on-orbit tuning of the POD force model and data processing to quickly obtain orbits with accuracy comparable to the best determined JASON-2 orbits. Over the life of the four-year proposal, we intend to make significant improvements in the POD of Topex/Poseidon and the JASON series. These efforts will address both random and systematic POD errors including long-term systematic errors effecting climate studies.