Validation of Sentinel-3a Sral Coastal Sea Level Data at High Posting Rate: 80Hz

TL;DR

This study validates Sentinel-3A SRAL coastal sea level data at 80Hz sampling in three Spanish sites, showing accuracy within 6-8 cm in 5-20 km segments and analyzing land effects on data quality near the coast.

Contribution

It provides a detailed validation of high-frequency Sentinel-3A SRAL altimetry data in coastal regions, highlighting land influence and optimal distance for accurate measurements.

Findings

Accuracy of 6-8 cm in 5-20 km segments from coast

Good quality data within 3 km for certain tracks

Land topography and track orientation affect data accuracy

Abstract

Altimetry data of two and a half years (June 2016-November 2018) of Sentinel 3A SRAL were validated at the sampling frequency of 80 Hz. The study areas are three coastal sites in Spain: Huelva (HU) (Gulf of Cadiz), Barcelona (BA), and Bilbao (BI). Two tracks were selected in each site: one ascending and one descending. Data were validated using in situ tide gauge (TG) data provided by the Spanish Puertos del Estado. In the 5 to 20 km segment, the results were 6-8 cm (rmse) and 0.7-0.8 (r) for all the tracks. The 0 to 5 km segment was also analyzed in detail to study the land effect on the altimetry data quality. The results showed that the track orientation, the angle of intersection with the coast, and the land topography concur to determine the nearest distance to the coast at which the data retain a similar level of accuracy than in the 5 to 20 km segment. This distance of good quality to shore reaches a minimum of 3 km for the tracks at HU and the descending track at BA.