Sentinel-3 radar altimetry for river monitoring – a catchment-scale evaluation of satellite water surface elevation from Sentinel-3A and Sentinel-3B

Abstract

Abstract. Sentinel-3 is the first satellite altimetry mission to operate both in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) mode and in open-loop tracking mode nearly globally. Both features are expected to improve the ability of the altimeters to observe inland water bodies. Additionally, the two-satellite constellation offers a unique compromise between spatial and temporal resolution with over 65 000 potential water targets sensed globally. In this study, we evaluate the possibility of extracting river water surface elevation (WSE) at catchment level from Sentinel-3A and Sentinel-3B radar altimetry using Level-1b and Level-2 data from two public platforms: the Copernicus Open Access Hub (SciHub) and Grid Processing on Demand (GPOD). The objectives of the study are to demonstrate that by using publicly available processing platforms, such databases can be created to suit specific study areas for any catchment and with a wide range of applications in hydrology. We select the Zambezi River as a study area. In the Zambezi basin, 156 virtual stations (VSs) contain useful WSE information in both datasets. The root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) is between 2.9 and 31.3 cm at six VSs, where in situ data are available, and all VSs reflect the observed WSE climatology throughout the basin. Some VSs are exclusive to either the SciHub or GPOD datasets, highlighting the value of considering multiple processing options beyond global altimetry-based WSE databases. In particular, we show that the processing options available on GPOD affect the number of useful VSs; specifically, extending the size of the receiving window considerably improved data at 13 Sentinel-3 VSs. This was largely related to the implementation of GPOD parameters. While correct on-board elevation information is crucial, the postprocessing options must be adapted to handle the steep changes in the receiving window position. Finally, we extract Sentinel-3 observations over key wetlands in the Zambezi basin. We show that clear seasonal patterns are captured in the Sentinel-3 WSE, reflecting flooding events in the floodplains. These results highlight the benefit of the high spatiotemporal resolution of the dual-satellite constellation.

Comment on hess-2021-315

“…3 -right panel-confirm the good relationship observed in the time series. The correlation coefficient ranges between 0.84 and 0.99 with the average standard error of the overall entire series varying from 0.10 m to 0.46 m. The values of Root Mean Square Deviation (RMSD) are found comparable to others obtained in other basins over the world (Leon et al, 2006;Da Silva et al, 2010;Papa et al, 2012;Kittel et al, 2021). The results obtained from the analysis for each satellite mission at each station are summarized in Table 2.…”

Improved Lake Level Estimation From Radar Altimeter Using an Automatic Multiscale-Based Peak Detection Retracker

“…Moreover, the data quality and availability are also of great significance to monitor lake level time series. As for Sentinel-3, the Open-Loop Tracking Command version 5 (OLTC V5) has significantly improved the placement of the range window, and more effective observation could be obtained compared to the data over some mountain rivers prior to OLTC V5 (March 2019) [42], [43]. It may be easier to monitor the water levels of small-and medium-sized lakes with the help of OLTC V5, but it also poses some new challenges: steep changes in the receiving window position can have detrimental effects on the water level [42].…”

Discharge Estimation Using Integrated Satellite Data and Hybrid Model in the Midstream Yangtze River

“…Jason-2 and Jason-3 also presented good discharge estimation performance with a state-of-the-art Poseidon-3 altimeter [31,32]. In recent years, the retrieved water levels from newly-launched Sentinel-3 (i.e., Sentinel-3A and Sentinel-3B) altimetry satellites were validated by comparing with in situ measurements [33,34], and the assessment of their discharge estimating potential was also conducted by Zakharova et al [35]. The upcoming (~2022) Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite is expected to produce high-resolution surface water knowledge, including water level and slope, which will provide a great innovation for estimating discharge [36,37].…”