On the Approximation of Precision Matrices for Wide-Swath Altimetry

New observations of ocean surface topography obtained by wide-swath satellite interferometry require new capabilities to process spatially correlated errors in order to assimilate these data into numerical models. The sea surface height (SSH) variations have to be weighted against other types of ass...

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Main Authors: Max Yaremchuk, Christopher Beattie, Gleb Panteleev
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-12-01
Series:Remote Sensing
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/16/23/4562
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author Max Yaremchuk
Christopher Beattie
Gleb Panteleev
author_facet Max Yaremchuk
Christopher Beattie
Gleb Panteleev
author_sort Max Yaremchuk
collection DOAJ
description New observations of ocean surface topography obtained by wide-swath satellite interferometry require new capabilities to process spatially correlated errors in order to assimilate these data into numerical models. The sea surface height (SSH) variations have to be weighted against other types of assimilated data using information on their precision, as represented by the inverse of the SSH error covariance matrix <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi mathvariant="bold-italic">R</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula>. The latter can be well approximated by a block-circulant (BC) structure and, therefore, allows numerically efficient implementation in operational data assimilation (DA) systems. In this note, we extend the technique of approximating <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi mathvariant="bold-italic">R</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula> for wide-swath altimeters by including the uncertainties associated with the state of the atmosphere. It is shown that such an extension keeps the BC approximation error within acceptable (±10%) bounds in a wide range of environmental conditions and could be beneficial for improving the accuracy of SSH retrievals from wide-swath altimeter observations.
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spelling doaj-art-0dabe7229ad544ca81498360588d234c2024-12-13T16:31:16ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922024-12-011623456210.3390/rs16234562On the Approximation of Precision Matrices for Wide-Swath AltimetryMax Yaremchuk0Christopher Beattie1Gleb Panteleev2US Naval Research Laboratory, Stennis Space Center, MS 39522, USADepartment of Mathematics, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USAUS Naval Research Laboratory, Stennis Space Center, MS 39522, USANew observations of ocean surface topography obtained by wide-swath satellite interferometry require new capabilities to process spatially correlated errors in order to assimilate these data into numerical models. The sea surface height (SSH) variations have to be weighted against other types of assimilated data using information on their precision, as represented by the inverse of the SSH error covariance matrix <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi mathvariant="bold-italic">R</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula>. The latter can be well approximated by a block-circulant (BC) structure and, therefore, allows numerically efficient implementation in operational data assimilation (DA) systems. In this note, we extend the technique of approximating <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi mathvariant="bold-italic">R</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula> for wide-swath altimeters by including the uncertainties associated with the state of the atmosphere. It is shown that such an extension keeps the BC approximation error within acceptable (±10%) bounds in a wide range of environmental conditions and could be beneficial for improving the accuracy of SSH retrievals from wide-swath altimeter observations.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/16/23/4562swath altimetryerror covariancedata assimilation
spellingShingle Max Yaremchuk
Christopher Beattie
Gleb Panteleev
On the Approximation of Precision Matrices for Wide-Swath Altimetry
Remote Sensing
swath altimetry
error covariance
data assimilation
title On the Approximation of Precision Matrices for Wide-Swath Altimetry
title_full On the Approximation of Precision Matrices for Wide-Swath Altimetry
title_fullStr On the Approximation of Precision Matrices for Wide-Swath Altimetry
title_full_unstemmed On the Approximation of Precision Matrices for Wide-Swath Altimetry
title_short On the Approximation of Precision Matrices for Wide-Swath Altimetry
title_sort on the approximation of precision matrices for wide swath altimetry
topic swath altimetry
error covariance
data assimilation
url https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/16/23/4562
work_keys_str_mv AT maxyaremchuk ontheapproximationofprecisionmatricesforwideswathaltimetry
AT christopherbeattie ontheapproximationofprecisionmatricesforwideswathaltimetry
AT glebpanteleev ontheapproximationofprecisionmatricesforwideswathaltimetry