Ocean surface and landslide probing with a scanning radar altimeter

This paper addresses two remote sensing experiments being conducted using an advanced scanning radar altimeter. In the first experiment, the instrument will be deployed both from a blimp and from a tower off the coast of Santa Barbara, California, to monitor the altimeter signature from the ocean for different sea states. The data from this deployment will be used to improve the electromagnetic (EM) bias estimate and thereby increase the accuracy of mean sea level data from the TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason 1 altimetry missions. In the second experiment, the blimp-borne sensor will be used to map a landslide area in Colorado, with frequent topographical images of the scene allowing examination of the landslide movements. The instrument for these studies exploits advanced system architectures with multiple receive channels to provide high resolution scanning capability at low cost. This research is funded by NASA in support of the upcoming NASA/CNES Jason mission