Hydrological evaluation of the CryoSat-2 Thematic Data Products for inland water monitoring

The monitoring of fresh water is fundamental for political, environmental and economic reasons. The use of satellite altimetry to measure water height is a well-established technique that has advanced over the past three decades. Unlike other repeated orbit missions, CryoSat-2, a Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite launched in 2010 by the European Space Agency, adopts a long repetitive (369 days) drift orbit with the advantages of having short distance between tracks and high spatial coverage.Here, we present the hydrological evaluation of the CryoSat-2 product provided by the ESA Cryo-TEMPO project as a Thematic Data Product. This TDP is an improved version of the CryoSat-2 product as it is specifically dedicated to the inland water theme for non-expert users. The analysis focuses on the evaluation of the water height products based on three retrackers (MLE4, OCOG, TFMRA) during a 10-year period and considering the three different acquisition modes of the CryoSat-2 radar instrument (LRM, SAR and SARin). The study areas are related to two Italian rivers, the Po and the Tiber River, with different characteristics. Results of the validation phase are presented referring to the comparison against ground recorded water level for selected stations over the two rivers. Moreover, the analysis includes the evaluation of the capability of the TDP to fulfil user requirements and to respond adequately to the scientific questions related to 1) flood prediction and forecasting activities, 2) water management demand and supply and 3) climate analysis.