Strategy for ENVISAT radar altimetry cross-calibration and validation

The next ESA Earth Observation Satellite, ENVISAT, to be launched mid-2001, will carry a new generation radar altimeter (RA-2) and a microwave radiometer (MWR). RA-2 provides improved measurement performances and many new capabilities which will benefit the science and application community. With almost two decades of altimetric measurements acquired by ESA, long term evolution of parameters playing a key role in climate change can be addressed. This requires homogeneous data sets intercalibrated at the millimeter level. The ENVISAT RA2/MWR Cross-Calibration and Validation Team has been formed to cross-calibrate the RA-2 and MWR on ERS-2 and validate the user level geophysical products.