Benefits and lessons learned from the Sentinel-3 tandem phase

Clerc, S., Donlon, C., Borde, F., Lamquin, N., Hunt, S., Smith, D., McMillan, M., Mittaz, J., Woolliams, E., Hammond, M., Banks, C., Moreau, T., Picard, B., Raynal, M., Rieu, P. and Guerou, A. (2020) Benefits and lessons learned from the Sentinel-3 tandem phase. Remote Sensing, 12 (17). 2668. ISSN 2072-4292 doi: 10.3390/rs12172668

Abstract/Summary

During its commissioning phase, the Copernicus Sentinel-3B satellite has been placed in a tandem formation with Sentinel-3A for a period of 6 months. This configuration allowed a direct comparison of measurements obtained by the two satellites. The purpose of this paper was to present the range of analyses that can be performed from this dataset, highlighting methodology aspects and the main outcomes for each instrument. We examined, in turn, the benefit of the tandem in understanding instrument operational modes differences, in assessing inter-satellite differences, and in validating measurement uncertainties. The results highlighted the very good consistency of the Sentinel-3A and B instruments, ensuring the complete inter-operability of the constellation. Tandem comparisons also pave the way for further improvements through harmonization of the sensors (OLCI), correction of internal stray-light sources (SLSTR), or high-frequency processing of SRAL SARM data. This paper provided a comprehensive overview of the main results obtained, as well as insights into some of the results. Finally, we drew the main lessons learned from the Sentinel-3 tandem phase and provided recommendations for future missions.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/92310
Identification Number/DOI	10.3390/rs12172668
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Science > School of Mathematical, Physical and Computational Sciences > Department of Meteorology
Publisher	MDPI
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