The Copernicus Polar Ice and Snow Topography Altimeter (CRISTAL) high-priority candidate mission
<p>The Copernicus Polar Ice and Snow Topography Altimeter (CRISTAL) mission is one of six high-priority candidate missions (HPCMs) under consideration by the European Commission to enlarge the Copernicus Space Component. Together, the high-priority candidate missions fill gaps in the measureme...
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2020-07-01
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Series: | The Cryosphere |
Online Access: | https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/14/2235/2020/tc-14-2235-2020.pdf |
Summary: | <p>The Copernicus Polar Ice and Snow Topography Altimeter (CRISTAL) mission is one of
six high-priority candidate missions (HPCMs) under consideration by the European
Commission to enlarge the Copernicus Space Component. Together, the
high-priority candidate missions fill gaps in the measurement capability of
the existing Copernicus Space Component to address emerging and urgent user
requirements in relation to monitoring anthropogenic <span class="inline-formula">CO<sub>2</sub></span> emissions,
polar environments, and land surfaces. The ambition is to enlarge the
Copernicus Space Component with the high-priority candidate missions in the
mid-2020s to provide enhanced continuity of services in synergy with the
next generation of the existing Copernicus Sentinel missions. CRISTAL will
carry a dual-frequency synthetic-aperture radar altimeter as its primary
payload for measuring surface height and a passive microwave radiometer to
support atmospheric corrections and surface-type classification. The
altimeter will have interferometric capabilities at Ku-band for improved
ground resolution and a second (non-interferometric) Ka-band frequency to
provide information on snow layer properties. This paper outlines the user
consultations that have supported expansion of the Copernicus Space
Component to include the high-priority candidate missions, describes the
primary and secondary objectives of the CRISTAL mission, identifies the key
contributions the CRISTAL mission will make, and presents a concept – as far
as it is already defined – for the mission payload.</p> |
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ISSN: | 1994-0416 1994-0424 |