Merged Altimeter Wave Height Data Base. An Update
Queffeulou, Pierre
Ifremer, FRANCE

The Ifremer Laboratoire d'Océanographie Spatiale (LOS) performed, for a long time, an independent monitoring of the quality of significant wave height (SWH), backscatter coefficient and wind speed measurements from the various altimeter missions. A merged and calibrated altimeter wave height data base has been setup and is regularly updated
(ftp://ftp.ifremer.fr/ifremer/cersat/products/swath/altimeters/waves/). Main recent improvements of the data base are presented.
Firstly, the Jason-2 data are now available in the GDR-D version. Accuracy of these new products is almost the same as for GDR-T ones, concerning wave height. A backscatter coefficient bias has to be taken into account for wind speed estimate.
Secondly, the Cryosat-2 IGDR wave height and backscatter coefficient provided by the NOAA Laboratory for Satellite Altimetry were validated for both LRM and Pseudo-LRM data. These data were then implemented in the merged data base. Thirdly, the ERS-1 and ERS-2 altimeter data are under reprocessing within the Reprocessing of Altimeter Products for ERS (REAPER) ESA project. Improvements in the SWH and wind speed altimeter estimates are discussed, and these new products will be calibrated and implemented in the merged data base, when available.