Copernicus Sentinel-6 first waveform results

Left: The image shows a comparison between normalised data processed on board Copernicus Sentinel-6 and downlinked (blue line), compared to full raw (SAR-RAW) data processed on the ground (red line). By removing the trailing edge of the data before being transmitted to Earth, the data rate is reduced by 50% (SAR-RMC) (Range Migration Compensation). High fidelity low-noise data are thanks to Sentinel-6’s Poseidon-4 digital instrument architecture, which is a first. There are no significant differences in geophysical parameter retrieval performance, and the onboard processing demonstrates expected performance.

Right: Example of sea-surface height measurements processed by the ESA Level-2 Ground Prototype Processor showing Low Resolution Mode, SAR-RAW and SAR-RMC data over a transect in the Southeast Atlantic Ocean. Significant sea-surface height structure is visible in the data revealed by a very low noise signal. The improvement of synthetic aperture processing is evident in the data.

Read full story: Sea-level monitoring satellite first results surpass expectations