Measurements and Applications
Nadir viewing sounding radar for provision of real-time high precision sea surface topography, ocean circulation and wave height data.
Full Name
Positioning Ocean Solid Earth Ice Dynamics Orbiting Navigator (Single frequency solid state radar altimeter)
Status
Operational
Instrument Agencies
Maturity
Instrument Type
Radar altimeters 
Geometry
Nadir-viewing
Instrument Technology
Radar altimeter
Sampling
Sounding
Data Access
Open Access
Data Format
NetCDF
Resolution
Basic measurement: 1/sec (6 km along track), Raw measurement: 20/sec (300 m along track)
Swath
On baseline TOPEX/POSEIDON orbit (10 day cycle): 300 km between tracks at equator
Accuracy
Sea level: 3.4 cm, Significant wave height: 0.4 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) |
SWOT - Surface Water Ocean Topography (2022 - 2025) |