CEOS EO HANDBOOK – INSTRUMENT SUMMARY - IRIS -
Full Name Interferometric Radar Altimeter for Ice and Snow Status Being developed
Instrument Agencies COM Maturity
Instrument Type Radar altimeters Geometry Nadir-viewing
Instrument Technology Radar altimeter Sampling Other
Data Access Open Access Data Format
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 the sea ice thickness and land ice elevation measurement after Cryosat-2 with enhanced performance.
Resolution Summary up to 0.5 m (along track resolution with fully-focused SAR processing). Various degrees of averaging depending on surface
[Best Resolution: 0.5m]
Swath Summary N/A
Accuracy Summary 23 arc sec (Angle of Arrival error); 3 cm on freeboard; 15 cm on sea ice thickness; 2 m on land ice surface elevation; 3.5 cm on sea surface height.
Waveband Summary Ku-band and Ka-band
Ka-Band (26.5 to 40 GHz)
Ku-Band (12.5 to 18 GHz)
Instrument Measurements
Measurements Overview
CategoryParameter
Atmospheric Humidity FieldsAtmospheric specific humidity (TC)
Ice sheet topographySea-ice sheet topography
Ice sheet topography
Multi-purpose imagery (land)Glacier topography
Ocean surface windsWind speed over sea surface (horizontal)
Ocean topography/currentsSea level
Ocean dynamic topography
Ocean wave height and spectrumSignificant wave height
Sea ice cover, edge and thicknessSea-ice cover
Sea-ice thickness
Thematic Links Global Climate Observing System Essential Climate Variables (GCOS ECVs)
ECVDescriptionProduct(s)ECV Inventory 3.0 Record(s)
Sea Ice click here click here search ECV Inventory records
Sea Level click here click here search ECV Inventory records
Sea State click here click here search ECV Inventory records
Water Vapour (upper air) click here click here search ECV Inventory records
Instrument Missions
Sentinel CRISTAL-A - Copernicus Polar Ice and Snow Topography Altimeter - A (2028 - 2036)
Sentinel CRISTAL-B - Copernicus Polar Ice and Snow Topography Altimeter - B (2030 - 2037)