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Instrument details
Acronym
SIRAL
Full name
SAR Interferometer Radar Altimeter
Purpose
Ice topography, ocean topography, significant wave height, wind speed on sea surface
Short description
Single frequency (13.56 GHz), with SAR capability along-track for high spatial resolution, and two cross-track aligned antennas implementing SAR interferometry to capture elevation changes
Background
First embarked on CryoSat, failed at launch
Scanning Technique
No scanning. Several operating modes possible, depending on the target area
Resolution
15 km IFOV. When used in SAR mode, the along-track resolution is 250 m
Coverage / Cycle
Global coverage on high latitudes in 1 month
Mass
70 kg
Power
149 W
Data Rate
60 kbps, 12 Mbps (SAR), 24 Mbps (SAR interferometry)
Providing Agency
ESA
Instrument Maturity
Flown on an R&D satellite
Utilization Period:
2005-10-08 to 2005-10-08
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 Radar altimeter Subcomponent 2 Interferometric radar altimeter [for wide-swath]
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives Geoid Ocean dynamic topography Significant wave height Secondary mission objectives Coastal sea level (tide) Gravity field Sea-ice elevation Sea-ice thickness 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 Ku-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 Ku-band radar altimeter
Sea-ice elevation 2 - very high Along-track only. Ku-band radar altimeter with along-track SAR capability for accurate ice border detection and differential ice-sea height measurement
Sea-ice thickness 2 - very high Change detection only.. Along-track only. Ku-band radar altimeter with along-track SAR capability for accurate ice border detection and differential ice-sea height measurement. Thickness inferred by ice model
Significant wave height 2 - very high Along-track only. Ku-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
Instrument: SIRAL