Table 3.
Altimeter and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) polar-orbiting satellite
sensors used to observe aquatic features. Black
and grey bars are as described in Table 1. Annotations are as defined in Table 1. Table reprinted with permission (Whitehouse,
2003). [SAR sensors are also used to detect ships in aquatic environments,
however, as ships are not a natural aquatic feature
or
process they are not included in this table.]
Satellite TOPEX / POSEIDON
JASON GFO ENVISAT RADARSAT ENVISAT
SENSOR altimeter altimeter altimeter altimeter SAR SAR
type
1
T T Mil R T/C R/T
revisit time
(days)
2
10 10 17 35 ~3 to ~5
~3 to ~5
Near-real time
3
no no no No yes no
spatial resolution
(m)
10 to 100
30 to 100
Web site
14 15 16 17 18 19
Country or
agency
France/USA France/U
SA
USA ESA Canada ESA
Floods/Storm
Surge Mesoscale Eddies
Ice Geostrophic
Currents
Density (3D)
Surface Slicks
Surface Temperature
Wave Height
Waves (internal)
Wind (speed &
direction)
211
Observing Coastal Waters with Spaceborne Sensors