Abstract
The main idea behind the French "Interferometric Cartwheel" and similar other concepts is to put some small satellites with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) receivers into slightly different orbits behind a bigger master satellite in such a way that sufficient baselines for cross-track interferometry between at least two satellites are always available. In a recent study for ESA, the potential of such configurations in combination with the upcoming ESA satellite TerraSAR-L was investigated. Favorable cross-track baselines for land applications would be on the order of several kilometers. In this paper we discuss the suitability of such configurations for ocean current measurements by along-track interferometry. The main parameter to be considered is the time lag between pairs of satellites, which may be changing continuously. We find that reasonable current measurements can be expected for along-track satellite spacings of about 10 to 1000 m. This wide range of suitable baselines should permit the design of a satellite configuration with continuously good performance for topographic measurements and current measurements.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages | 3345-3348 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| State | Published - Dec 1 2004 |
| Externally published | Yes |
| Event | 2004 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium Proceedings: Science for Society: Exploring and Managing a Changing Planet. IGARSS 2004 - Anchorage, AK, United States Duration: Sep 20 2004 → Sep 24 2004 |
Other
| Other | 2004 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium Proceedings: Science for Society: Exploring and Managing a Changing Planet. IGARSS 2004 |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | United States |
| City | Anchorage, AK |
| Period | 9/20/04 → 9/24/04 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Computer Science Applications
- Earth and Planetary Sciences(all)