Measuring ocean waves from space: objectives and characteristics of the China-France Oceanography SAtellite (CFOSAT)

• Published in: 29th International Conference on Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering: Volume 4
• Main Authors: Hauser, Danièle, Tison, Céline, Lefèvre, Jean-Michel, Lambin, Juliette, Amiot, Thierry, Aouf, Lotfi, Collard, Fabrice, Castillan, Patrick
• Other Authors: ESTER - LATMOS, Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES), Groupe d'étude de l'atmosphère météorologique (CNRM-GAME), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Météo France-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Collecte Localisation Satellites (CLS), Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2010
• Subjects: [SDU.STU.OC]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Oceanography; [SDU.OCEAN]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Ocean; Atmosphere; Arctic
• Online Access: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00517959; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00517959/document; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00517959/file/Hauser2010.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1115/OMAE2010-20184

The Chinese and French Space Agencies are jointly preparing a satellite mission devoted to the monitoring of the ocean surface and related science and applications. This is the so-called "China France Oceanography SATellite" (CFOSAT), to be launched around 2013. This mission will provide simultaneous and collocated observations of wind at the ocean surface and spectral properties of surface ocean waves using two scatterometers, both in Ku-Band: SWIM for measurements of directional wave spectra and SCAT for wind vector measurements. The SWIM instrument will use a real aperture observation technique so as to avoid limitations encountered with SAR systems. This paper describes the main objectives and characteristics of the mission with a focus on the SWIM instrument designed and developed under French responsibility to measure directional spectra of ocean waves.