Validation of Sentinel-3 OLCI integrated water vapor products using regional GNSS measurements in Crete, Greece

Summarization: Water vapor is one of the essential variables in monitoring the Earth’s climate. The Ocean and Land Color Instrument (OLCI) on-board the Copernicus Sentinel-3 missions measures the Integrated Water Vapor (IWV) column over land and ocean surfaces. Post-launch calibration and validation of satellite measurements constitutes a key process in the operational phase of Earth observation satellites. This work presents the external and independent validation of OLCI-A IWV product using the regional network of continuously operating Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) comprised 10 stations distributed over the island of Crete in the eastern Mediterranean. The Sentinel-3A/-3B OLCI imagery that captures in a single scene the entire area of Crete has been examined. For each OLCI image, the IWV value of cloud-free pixels containing the GNSS stations have been derived and compared against simultaneous GNSS-derived measurements. The absolute as well as the relative bias between OLCI-A and OLCI-B IWV measurements have been determined. There is a good agreement between OLCI and GNSS with a bias of −0.57 mm ± 2.90 mm for OLCI(A) and +2.42 ± 3.41 mm for OLCI(B). The results of this regional validation activity are compared against other studies and the regular validation carried out at the Sentinel-3 Mission Performance Center. This work concludes that the accuracy of the OLCI IWV products is within its design requirements. The potential synergy between Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-3 IWV products is also discussed.Presented on: Remote Sensin