Water surface elevation in coastal and inland waters using satellite radar altimetry

Abstract This chapter provides an overview of the satellite altimetry measurement system, how it works and how the water surface elevation is derived. Satellite altimetry had originally been designed for open ocean studies, however a decade of progress has significantly improved the retrieval of data in coastal zones and inland waters. Advances in observational techniques (Ka-band and delay-Doppler/SAR-mode), revisited data processing, and improved corrections led to a higher accuracy in water surface elevation retrieval in these challenging areas. The available data sets with consistent coastal processing as well as the existing products dedicated to inland waters are presented including their potential accuracy for exploitation. The latest developments and capabilities of the various altimetric missions around coasts and inland are illustrated, with an emphasis on describing the benefits to studies of extreme events (heavy river discharge and storm surges). The future satellite altimetry missions such as Sentinel-3 and Sentinel-6/Jason-CS are expected to increase capabilities and coverage and represent a great opportunity to stimulate further exploitation of altimeter data in coastal and inland water targets.