Sentinel-3C's radar tracks Greenland's ice height in its first data, matching a reference model
About two weeks after launch, the European Space Agency released the first observations from Sentinel-3C, the third satellite in the Copernicus Sentinel-3 series. Its colour instrument imaged Italy, the Arctic and the Caribbean, and its radar altimeter recorded first surface-height tracks over the Greenland ice sheet that closely matched a reference elevation model. These are commissioning results from two instruments; the satellite is not yet declared ready for routine service.
Science··Midday
First images cover Italy, the Arctic and the Caribbean
Sentinel-3C, the newest Copernicus Earth-observation satellite, has returned its first views of Earth. About two weeks after launch, the European Space Agency (ESA) released the first observations: images from the satellite's ocean and land colour instrument covering Italy, the Arctic and the Caribbean, along with the first ocean and ice measurements.[1], [2]
Sentinel-3C is the third satellite in its series. The Sentinel-3 mission is designed to monitor sea-surface temperature, colour and height; sea-ice thickness; land vegetation; drought; and wildfire, among other changing conditions.[1]
A radar altimeter measures Greenland's ice surface
A synthetic-aperture radar altimeter recorded the first tracks of surface height over the Greenland ice sheet, together with sea-surface height measurements. According to ESA, the Greenland tracks closely matched a reference digital elevation model.[1], [2]
Repeated satellite measurements of the height of polar ice sheets can help track ice loss and its contribution to rising sea levels. A single pass shows only one moment on the ice surface; working out how fast ice is disappearing requires observing the same areas again and again.[1]
Commissioning continues: two instruments report, a third is still to come
These are commissioning results showing that two instruments are operating. ESA has not yet declared every instrument ready for routine service, and first results from the instrument that measures sea and land surface temperature are expected separately.[1]
ESA operates the satellite during commissioning, and mission management is then shared with the European meteorological satellite organisation. Routine distribution of marine and atmospheric data is the responsibility of different bodies than distribution of land and ice data. The first measurements do not establish a long-term climate trend; they begin the test of whether the new satellite delivers data consistent with its predecessors.[1]
