The Advanced Scatterometer Processing System for ERS Data: Design, Products and Performances

• Main Authors: R. Crapolicchio, P. Lecomte, X. Neyt
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Sea ice
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.380.1624; http://earth.esa.int/workshops/salzburg04/papers_posters/3A5_crapoli_422.pdf

Since the launch of ERS-1 in 1991 and ERS-2 in 1995, carrying a C-band Scatterometer, a data set of more than thirteen years of backscattered signal from the Earth surface is available for exploitation. With its global coverage, day or night and all-weather operation, ERS Scatterometer data offer unique opportunity for longterm studies and research. Beyond the original mission of ERS Scatterometer, intended to provide measurements of the wind vector over the Oceans, a large number of new unforeseen applications have emerged during the last years. Originally developed to measure winds over the ocean from space, Scatterometer data has proved to be very useful in a variety of studies. These new applications cover the wind, but also land, continental or sea ice, soil moisture, and vegetation and require high quality and long-term backscatter information. To fulfil the needs of such large scientific community, the European Space Agency (ESA) has developed the project: Advanced Scatterometer Processing System (ASPS). Main scope of the project is to provide with state of the art algorithm, high quality and homogenous Scatterometer measurements (sigma nought) of the Earth surface and high quality wind field over the Oceans by reprocessing the entire ERS mission. Additional scope is to provide on experimental basis scientific products in high resolution tailored for the emerging Scatterometer application. The ASPS project is now in a pre-operational phase and the scope of the paper is to give to the scientific community an overview of the ASPS architectural design, to report on the ASPS product format and performances. Those new data, available in the next years, hopefully will help the scientific community to better understand and monitor the Earth's climate changes and to protect our environment. 1.