Pulse compression and sea level tracking in satellite altimetry

An account is given of the pulse-compression technique, in which a radar altimeter transmits a relatively long pulse and processes the returned signal in a way equivalent to transmitting a very short one and measuring the returned power in a sequence of range gates. The effective short pulse enhance...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of atmospheric and oceanic technology 1989-06, Vol.6 (3), p.407-438
Main Authors: Chelton, Dudley B., Walsh, Edward J., Macarthur, John L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Spacecraft Instrumentation
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:An account is given of the pulse-compression technique, in which a radar altimeter transmits a relatively long pulse and processes the returned signal in a way equivalent to transmitting a very short one and measuring the returned power in a sequence of range gates. The effective short pulse enhances the range resolution that would be obtained from the actual long pulse. Pulse compression and sea-level tracking are important to the overall error budget for altimetric estimates of sea level. Attention is presently given to the high degree of accuracy required for the NASA TOPEX altimeter scheduled for launch in mid-1992.
ISSN:0739-0572
1520-0426
DOI:10.1175/1520-0426(1989)006<0407:pcaslt>2.0.co;2