Performances study of interferometric radar altimeters: from the instrument to the global mission definition

The main limitations of standard nadir-looking radar altimeters have been known for long. They include the lack of coverage (intertrack distance of typically 150 km for the T/P / Jason tandem), and the spatial resolution ( typically 2 km for T/P and Jason), expected to be a limiting factor for the determination of mesoscale phenomena in deep ocean. In this context, various solutions using off-nadir radar interferometry have been proposed by Rodriguez and al to give an answer to oceanographic mission objectives. This paper addresses the performances study of this new generation of instruments, and dedicated mission. A first approach is based on the Wide-Swath Ocean Altimeter (WSOA) intended to be implemented onboard Jason-2 in 2004 but now abandoned. Every error domain has been checked: the physics of the measurement, its geometry, the impact of the platform and external errors like the tropospheric and ionospheric delays. We have especially shown the strong need to move to a sun-synchronous orbit and the non-negligible impact of propagation media errors in the swath, reaching a few centimetres in the worst case. Some changes in the parameters of the instrument have also been discussed to improve the overall error budget. The outcomes have led to the definition and the optimization of such an instrument and its dedicated mission.