The St3TART-FO Project

Sentinel-3 Topography mission Assessment through Reference Techniques Follow-On

The St3TART-FO project is aimed at providing an operational framework for Fiducial Reference Measurements (FRM) in support of the validation activities of the Sentinel-3 (S3) radar altimeter over land surfaces of interest, including inland water bodies (lakes, reservoirs, rivers including estuarian areas), as well as sea ice and land ice areas (ice caps, mountain glaciers, etc.).

Building upon work that was conducted in St3TART (2021-2023), St3TART-FO ensures a supply of fiducial data for the Cal/Val activities of the ESA S3 Mission Performance Center and of the S3 Validation Team. It also paves the way for other future altimetry missions such as CryoSat-2, ICESat-2, CRISTAL, and S3 Next-Generation Topography as well as for potential synergies with the Copernicus CIMR expansion mission.

The Sentinel-3 SAR altimeter Hydro-Cryo Thematic data products focus on three surfaces: inland waters, sea ice, and land ice. To effectively address the unique characteristics of each, we have crafted our activities into three corresponding thematic areas, each led by a team of experts possessing the relevant domain knowledge and experience.

The St3TART Follow-On project will solidify the transition from research to operational validation, providing a foundation for the accuracy and reliability of Sentinel-3 altimetry measurements, as well as for future missions.

Key outcomes include:

  • FRM Data Hub: A centralized platform offering free and accessible access to fully characterized FRM measurements as well as associated open-source processing scripts with Jupyter Notebooks.
  • Valuable documentation and publications for future mission support: In addition to the FRM measurements, St3TART-FO provides a comprehensive set of documentation on FRM protocols and procedures over inland waters, sea ice, and land ice. This includes roadmaps, all of which pave the way for future altimetry missions.
  • Community collaboration: Fostering the community collaboration on FRM and calibration / validation activities, and sharing data, detailed documentation as well as processing information.

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