October 27, 2014

CNES and Eumetsat hold ‘New Frontiers of Altimetry’ gathering in Lake Constance from Monday 27 to Friday 31 October

CNES and Eumetsat (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites) are organizing the flagship annual event of the altimetry community in Lake Constance, Germany, from Monday 27 to Friday 31 October. A unique opportunity to review the performance of new Ka-band altimetry instruments and the work of the Ocean Surface Topography Science Team (OSTST), as well as a forum to reflect on future user needs.

CNES President Jean-Yves Le Gall opened today the key event for the constantly evolving and growing field of altimetry. Held over five days, this gathering that brings together altimetry professionals from around the world will be structured in three parts, with two workshops devoted to the results from the SARAL/AltiKa and DORIS (Doppler Orbitography and Radiopositioning Integrated by Satellite) missions and a work session organized by OSTST.

More than 18 months after the launch of the joint SARAL/AltiKa environmental monitoring mission undertaken by France and India, participants will be conducting a status check and reviewing the first results, notably recent advances accomplished in oceanography thanks to a new Ka-band altimeter concept. The second workshop will be devoted to the DORIS precise-positioning system, capable of determining the orbit of satellites equipped with DORIS receivers and the location of points on the ground with centimetre accuracy. Aimed at users of DORIS data and products, this workshop will highlight the latest developments and results obtained with this system and lay the foundations for a future user coordination and discussion platform. Lastly, the annual OSTST meeting will be organizing a series of splinter work sessions and round tables to conduct a full review of the TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason missions.

In his opening speech, CNES President Jean-Yves Le Gall said: “It is my pleasure to welcome you to this annual rendezvous devoted to satellite altimetry, a domain where new frontiers are consistently crossed and new successes accomplished every day. There are three ingredients for these successes: firstly, international cooperation within the growing altimetry community, as shown by our collaborations with India, NASA, Eumetsat and NOAA; secondly, innovation, through the dramatic advances achieved over the last two decades in instrument and mission design, as well as in developing validation tools and ground resources; and thirdly, excellence in ensuring reliability and availability of those tools. The future of altimetry is now yours to build, but in view of your dynamism, of the results already achieved and of the societal challenges ahead, I must say I am very confident in the future to which we are all contributing.”


CNES press contacts
Alain Delrieu Tel. +33 (0)1 44 76 74 04 alain.delrieu@cnes.fr
Julien Watelet Tel. +33 (0)1 44 76 78 37 julien.watelet@cnes.fr
www.cnes.fr/presse