Measurements and Applications
Ku-band Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar Altimeter (with added Ka-band channel for snow depth retrieval and in combination with AMR-CR MW Radiometer for ice&snow classification and wet troposphere correction) to cover the needs for continuous monitoring of sea ice
thickness and land ice elevation measurement after Cryosat-2, with enhanced performance.
Full Name
Interferometric Radar Altimeter for Ice and Snow
Status
Being developed
Instrument Agencies
Maturity
Instrument Type
Radar altimeters 
Geometry
Nadir-viewing
Instrument Technology
Radar altimeter
Sampling
Other
Data Access
Open Access
Data Format
Resolution
up to 0.5 m (along track resolution with fully-focused SAR processing). Various degrees of averaging depending on surface
[Best Resolution: 0.5m]
Accuracy
Uncertainties ≤23 arcsec on Angle of Arrival; ≤3 cm on freeboard; ≤15 cm on sea ice thickness; ≤2 m on land ice surface elevation (≤0.5m for terrain with slope <0.2 degrees); ≤3.5 cm on sea surface height.
Waveband
Ku-band and Ka-band
| Ka-Band (26.5 to 40 GHz) |
| Ku-Band (12.5 to 18 GHz) |
Sentinel CRISTAL-A - Copernicus polaR Ice and Snow Topography ALtimeter - A (2028 - 2036) |
| Sentinel CRISTAL-B - Copernicus polaR Ice and Snow Topography ALtimeter - B (2033 - 2041) |