Simulation of the Wide Swath Sea Surface Height Calibration Using GNSS Buoy Array

The calibration and validation task is very challenging for new-generation wide swath altimeters. There are two error terms sensitive to the across-track distance to the satellite nadir: the roll error which is proportional to the across-track distance, and the baseline length bias which is proportional to the square of the across-track distance. In this paper, Monte-Carlo simulations of the height error model are carried out. The performance of the calibration method based on the innovative GNSS buoy array technology is evaluated. Given appropriate design of the buoy array configuration, the calibration specification can be satisfied.