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Instrument details
Acronym
AltiKa
Full name
Ka-band Altimeter
Purpose
Ocean topography, significant wave height, wind speed on sea surface; specific to sea-surface height
Short description
Single frequency in the Ka-band (35.75 GHz) with built-in dual-frequency radiometer (23.8 and 36.5 GHz)
Background
New development
Scanning Technique
Nadir-only viewing, continuous sampling along track
Resolution
10 km
Coverage / Cycle
Global coverage in 35 days (repeat cycle), 30 km average spacing
Mass
40 kg
Power
85 W
Data Rate
43 kbps
Providing Agency
CNES
Instrument Maturity
Demonstrated by simulations
Utilization Period:
2013-05-25 to ≥2021
Last update:
2021-06-15
Detailed characteristics
Satellites this instrument is flying on
Note: a red tag indicates satellites no longer operational, a
green tag indicates operational satellites, a blue tag indicates
future satellites
Instrument classification
Earth observation instrument Active and radio-occultation sensor Radar altimeter
WIGOS Subcomponents
Subcomponent 1 Conventional radar altimeter
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives Geoid Ocean dynamic topography Significant wave height Secondary mission objectives Coastal sea level (tide) Gravity field
Opportunity objectives Wind speed (near surface) Show all Show fewer
Tentative Evaluation of Measurements
The following list indicates which measurements can typically be
retrieved from this category of instrument. To see a full Gap Analysis by Variable,
click on the respective variable.
Note: table can be sorted by clicking on the column headers
Variable Relevance for measuring this variable Operational limitations Explanation
Coastal sea level (tide) 3 - high Along-track only. Single-frequency Ka-band radar altimeter
Geoid 2 - very high Long time series needed.. Along-track only. Geoid derived from multi-temporal analysis of radar altimetry data
Gravity field 4 - fair Partial information (geoid).. Along-track only. Gravity field derived from multi-temporal analysis of radar altimetry data
Ocean dynamic topography 3 - high Long time for mapping.. Along-track only. Single-frequency Ka-band radar altimeter
Significant wave height 2 - very high Along-track only. Ka-band radar altimeter
Wind speed (near surface) 5 - marginal Over sea only.. Along-track only. Radar altimeter. Wind speed estimated from the intensity of the backscattered signals
Ice sheet topography 3 - high Infrequent coverage.. Along-track only. Ka-band radar altimeter
Instrument: AltiKa