Satellite altimetry of inland water bodies

An algorithm is proposed for determining water level in inland water bodies and coastal zones of seas and oceans. The algorithm was tested for the water area of the Gorki Reservoir, for which radioaltimeter databases show considerable data losses. A model was constructed, describing the shape of a mean impulse reflected from a statistically heterogeneous piecewise-constant underlying surface (topographic model). The model was used to substantiate criteria for data choice for the Gorki Reservoir and to construct a regional algorithm for estimating water level using data from Jason-1 satellite and based on the analysis of the shape of telemetric impulses (retracking). Water level was calculated with the use of an algorithm of regional adaptive retracking Sensor Geophysical Data Record databases for the Gorki and Rybinsk reservoirs. Algorithm application has been shown to considerably increase the amount of actual data and significantly improve the accuracy of water level evaluation. The general principles of retracking of a complex domain (a coastal zone, an inland water body, etc.) are discussed. The principles are based on the calculation of signal with allowance made for the roughness of the reflecting surface and they can be applied to different geographic regions.