Poseidon-4 Altimeter Instrument

Identifierposeidon-4-altimeterNamesPoseidon-4 SAR Radar AltimeterPoseidon-4 Altimeter About identifiers

Measurements and Applications

Nadir viewing sounding radar for provision of real-time high-precision sea surface topography, ocean circulation and wave height data.

Instrument Summary

Full Name
Poseidon-4 SAR Radar Altimeter
Status
Operational
Instrument Agencies
ESA, CNES, EUMETSAT, NASA
Maturity
Instrument Type
Radar altimeters
Geometry
Nadir-viewing
Instrument Technology
Radar altimeter
Sampling
Sounding
Data Access
Open Access
Data Format

Performance Summary

Resolution
Swath
On baseline TOPEX/POSEIDON orbit (10 day cycle): 300 km between tracks at equator.
[Max Swath: 300 km]
Accuracy
Sea level: 3.2 cm, Significant wave height: 0.15 m, Horizontal sea surface wind speed: 1.5 m/s
Waveband
Microwave: Ku-band (13.575 GHz), C-band (5.3 GHz)
Ku-Band (12.5 to 18 GHz)
C-Band (8 - 4 GHz)

Instrument Missions

Sentinel-6 A Michael Freilich - Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich (2020 - 2028) sentinel-6-a-michael-freilich_poseidon-4-altimeter
Sentinel-6 B - Sentinel-6 B (2025 - 2033) sentinel-6-b_poseidon-4-altimeter
S6NG-A - Sentinel-6 Next Generation A (2033 - 2041) s6ng-a_poseidon-4-altimeter
S3NGT-A - Sentinel-3 Next Generation Topography A (2035 - 2044) s3ngt-a_poseidon-4-altimeter
S3NGT-B - Sentinel-3 Next Generation Topography B (2036 - 2046) s3ngt-b_poseidon-4-altimeter
S6NG-B - Sentinel-6 Next Generation B (2038 - 2046) s6ng-b_poseidon-4-altimeter

Instrument Measurements

CategoryParameter
Gravity, Magnetic and Geodynamic measurementsGeoid
Landscape topographyLand surface topography
Ocean surface windsWind speed over sea surface (horizontal)
Ocean topography/currentsSea level
Ocean dynamic topography
Ocean wave height and spectrumSignificant wave height
Copyright © CEOS 2026 · Data licence: CC BY 4.0