The Cryosat Payload Data Ground Segment and Data Processing

Abstract:

The main CryoSat-2 mission objectives can be summarised in the determination of the regional and basin-scale trends in perennial Arctic sea ice thickness and mass, and in the determination of regional and total contributions to global sea level of the Antarctic and Greenland Ice. Therefore, the observations made over the life time of the mission will provide conclusive evidence as to whether there is a trend towards diminishing polar ice cover and consequently improve our understanding of the relationship between ice and global climate change.
Scope of this paper is to describe the Cryosat Ground Segment and its main function to satisfy the Cryosat mission requirements. In particular, the paper will discuss the current status of the L1b and L2 processing in terms of completeness and availability. An outlook will be given on planned product and processor updates, the associated reprocessing campaigns will be discussed as well.