applications of satellite altimetry mission assets …€¦ · sentinel-6: hrmr for coastal...

APPLICATIONS OF SATELLITE ALTIMETRY MISSION ASSETS FOR UNDERSTANDING AND ASSESSING COASTAL REGIONS

Margaret Srinivasan1

Gary Geller11Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology

Climate Prediction Application Science Workshop (CPASW)11-13 June 2019, Charleston, SC

© 2019 California Institute of Technology. Government sponsorship acknowledged.

Acknowledgements;

• Jason-2, Jason-3, Jason-CS/Sentinel-6, SWOT Projects, NASA Applied Sciences

• Gary Geller (JPL), Josh Willis (JPL)

Outline

1. Overview of altimetry missions

2. How and why we use these data

3. Examples of coastal relevance & applications

4. Poster

5. Concluding remarks

Acknowledgements & Outline

NASA & Intl Space Agencies Ocean Altimetry Missions

Past• GeoSat 1985-1990, US Navy• ERS 1 & 2 1991-2011, ESA • TOPEX/Poseidon 1992-2006,

NASA/CNES• GeoSat Follow-On 1998-2008,

US Navy/NOAA• Jason-1 2001-2013, NASA/CNES• Envisat 2002-2012, ESA

Present• Jason-2 2008,

NASA/CNES/NOAA/EUMETSAT• Cryosat 2008, ESA, CNES• HY-2A 2011, China• Saral 2013, ISRO, CNES• Jason-3 2016,

NASA/CNES/NOAA/EUMETSAT• Sentinel 3A & 3B 2016/2018,

ESA/CNES• CFOSAT 2018, CNES/CNRS

Future• Jason-CS/Sentinel-6 (A/B)

2020/2025, NASA/ESA/CNES/EUMETSAT, NOAA

• SWOT 2021, NASA/CNES/CSA/UKSA

• Sentinel-3C & D• HY-2C, D, ...

Climate Prediction Application Science Workshop, 11-13 June 2019, Charleston, SC

How altimeters work

• Jason satellites measure range using altimeter

• Using known geoid info (GRACE), position known precisely

• Locate satellite using DORIS, Laser Ranging and GPS

• Correct for wet-path delay with radiometer

• Position and Range give sea surface height (SSH).

Source: J. Willis, JPL

• The slope of the ocean tells us the currents at the surface

• Sea surface height shows where the ocean stores heat

Ocean Circulation & Ocean Heat

Modified from: J. Willis, JPLBlue Marble, NASA 1972


Altimetry Mission Science Highlights

• Continue the time series of global sea level rise—a critical input for all climate change assessments and impacts

• Seasonal, inter-annual and decadal ocean variability

• Coastal variability and its impact on ecosystems

• Ocean weather-operational oceanography

• Surface wave forecasting and evaluation

• Hurricane intensity forecasting

Near Real Time Surface CurrentsGlobally Averaged Sea Level Rise

El Nino/La Nina monitoring


Ocean Heat andTropical Cyclones


• Experimental high frequency radiometer (90, 130 & 168 GHz) integrated into classical AMR (18, 23, 34 GHz) structure sharing the main AMR-C 1-m reflector

• Objective: Measure wet tropospheric Path Delay to better than 1 cm with ~5x smaller spatial footprint (compared to AMR)

• Complements S6 high-resolution radar altimeter for improved characterization of important coastal processes

HRMR

AMR

HRMR new measurement coverage

Performance Goal:Using 90, 13, and 168 Ghz radiometer channels, measure the wet tropospheric path delay of the nadir altimeter signal over ocean with an objective uncertainty of 1.0 cm within 5-50km of the coast

7

Sentinel-6: HRMR for Coastal Altimetry



ESAS 2017 Science and Applications Priorities (Decadal Survey)

• “How much will sea level rise, globally and regionally, over the next decade and beyond, and what will be the role of ice sheets and ocean heat storage?"

• “How will local sea level change along coastlines around the world in the next decade to century?”• “How are decadal scale global atmospheric and ocean circulation patterns changing, and what are the effects of

these changes on seasonal climate processes, extreme events, and longer term environmental change?”• “What will be the consequences of amplified climate change already observed in the Arctic and projected for

Antarctica on global trends of sea level rise, atmospheric circulation, extreme weather events, global ocean circulation, and carbon fluxes?”

From “Thriving on Our Changing Planet: A Decadal Strategy for Earth Observation from Space”, Decadal Survey for Earth Sciences and Applications from Space (ESAS 2017), Table 3.3.


• Coastal Ocean Dynamics –Ø Observe coastal currents and storm surges (ground track/swath-dependent)Ø Navigation in the coastal oceanØ Decision support of coastal managers: knowledge of currents to accurately to determine pathways for spills of toxic

materials, movement of blooms of toxic algae or anoxic water conditions, most probable search areas for missing persons or disabled boats, originating locations for material discharged from ships or shore

Ø SWOT will provide spatial structure of coastal dynamics with global high res observations

Image: Han, G., et al, 2012

Storm Surge ForecastingImpacts of Coastal Erosion on CommunitiesModeling Hurricane Winds and Waves Along Coasts

Coastal Applications of Altimetry


Altimetry Missions Applications

Program highlights;• 27+ year history of societal

benefits• International Steering Committee• Altimetry Applications Plan• Communications & User

Workshops

Plan Focus—practical (not research-oriented) applications;• End-user focused; challenge—effectively connect to end-users• Ocean practical applications – biological, wind/waves, coastal, SAR/hazards, ocean weather events• Land hydrology practical applications• Mission partner activities – NOAA, CNES; ESA; Eumetsat

Literature Database - 6,400 entries from 1990-2019.

sealevel.jpl.nasa.gov/applications

https://sealevel.jpl.nasa.gov/applications


Applications Program for Coastal Communities

• Understand the requirements of decision makers• Communicate the value of available data and information resources• Clarify and quantify uncertainties with respect to attribution of drivers for global

climate change and the implications for regional affects• Target audience identification: water managers, local government agencies,

operational agencies

Users• Marine environment monitoring – marine debris, oil spills; Coastal managers, ocean biologist,

marine mammal monitoring organizations• Weather & event forecasting, seasonal and climate prediction; NOAA (CoastWatch, OceanWatch,

National Hurricane Center)• Maritime safety and pollution forecasting, national security, the oil and gas industry, fisheries

management and coastal and shelf-sea forecasting.


Coastal altimetry publications

Approach & Objectives;• Literature database• Current applications, users and uses

of OST information-better understand impacts & societal benefit;

• Establish scope of existing applied research and support new potential applications;

• Demonstrate the benefit & contributions of OST to society;

• Increase the use and utility of data products and facilitate access via PODAAC and AVISO+;

• Engage broad user communities through the altimetry missions’ life cycles

Image credit: NASA and Odysea LLC


l Monitoring El Niño and La Niña

l NOAA long term climate forecasts: flood control, agricultural strategy, water and energy use planning

l Media use to explain weather and climate to the public

l TOPEX/POSEIDON data have become familiar to more than a billion people worldwide

Images NASA/JPL

El Nino & La Nina


• National Hurricane Center• Ocean heat content shows heat available over to increase intensity of tropical cyclones.• Long-term seasonal forecasts of the numbers and strengths of hurricanes expected in a given

hurricane season• Short term forecasts of the strength of individual hurricanes

Hurricane Forecasting

Sea Surface Height Sea Surface Temperature

Source: NOAA/AOML

Rivers 1490

Operational 260

Research 1290

Lakes 155

Operational 64

Research 91

Time series of water levels for rivers& lakes from altimetry

https://ipad.fas.usda.gov/cropexplorer/global_reservoir/http://www.theia-land.fr/en/products/water-levels-rivers-and-lakes-hydroweb-0

Monitoring Global Lake and River Levels

Source: C. Birkett, UMD

Host: USDA FASResources:

https://ipad.fas.usda.gov/cropexplorer/global_reservoir/

http://www.theia-land.fr/en/products/water-levels-rivers-and-lakes-hydroweb-0


https://www.servirglobal.net/Global/Articles/Article/1334/servirs-flood-forecasting-system-proving-itself-in-bangladeshhttp://climate.cae.tntech.edu/projects/liquidearth_river

Tool from Univ. of Washington allows Jason data to be used to predict flooding by Bangladesh Water Development Board

Flood Risk Assessment

Source: F. Hossain, UW

https://www.servirglobal.net/Global/Articles/Article/1334/servirs-flood-forecasting-system-proving-itself-in-bangladesh

http://climate.cae.tntech.edu/projects/liquidearth_river

Private Sector: Operational Ocean Forecasting

Application: Realtime ocean charts for general marine consulting using infrared, satellite altimetry, and surface isotherm data. Oceanographic analyses are produced and available for the Gulf Stream area and all major global currents. Operation: Using near real-time altimeter data with sea surface temperature imagery to evaluate currents affecting offshore operations. Waypoints are also provided for taking advantage of favorable currents and for avoiding unfavorable ones.

Source: https://jcgulfstream.com

• Private companies make charts of surface height

• Eddies and swift moving currents can be identified

• Transatlantic ship routing, cable laying, and oil exploration use these maps to increase safety and economic return.

• Recreational boating

Private Sector: Offshore oilfield operational support

Data User: Capt. Karl Greig, captain of a large anchor handling tug boat owned by Edison Chouest Offshore, a petroleum industry service company, uses NRT Jason data from CCAR to optimize routes while towing semi-submersible drilling rigs used in deepwater oil and gas exploration between lease blocks. Example Operation: Moving a rig from Mississippi Canyon block 68 to Mustang Island block 68, a total of 425 nautical miles. Typical towing speeds are 3 to 4 knots so avoiding and/or using eddy currents significantly reduces transit times, in this case by over 50 hours. Altimeter Product Used: Overlays of geostrophic velocity vector on colored magnitudes values accessed on CCAR website by satellite phone.Estimated Savings: $650,000 in rig downtime and towing costs for one event.

Climate Prediction Application Science Workshop, 11-13 June 2019, Charleston, SCswot.jpl.nasa.gov

Thank you!

applications of satellite altimetry mission assets …€¦ · sentinel-6: hrmr for coastal...

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