About VOCALIS

The VOCALIS (Validation of Operational Copernicus Altimetry over Land water and Ice Surface) workshop, organized by ESA and NOVELTIS in collaboration with UNIS, will bring together experts from the CRISTAL IN-PROVA and ST3TART-FO ESA projects, alongside representatives from Copernicus services, Copernicus In-Situ, EEA, and MAG/QWG/S3VT. The workshop will focus on the operational validation of Sentinel-3 and on the preparation of the CRISTAL Cal/Val activities for Level-2 data products across sea ice, land ice, and inland waters. Participants will present project outcomes, share insights on the provision of Fiducial Reference Measurements (FRMs) for calibration and validation (Cal/Val) phase, and discuss gaps in in-situ data. The event will also contribute to shaping future Cal/Val strategies for upcoming missions in the cryosphere and hydrology domains.

St3TART-FO and CRISTAL IN-PROVA in a nutshell:

The St3TART-FO project activities address the provision of an operational framework for FRM to support validation activities and foster the exploitation of Sentinel-3 L2 Hydro-Cryo Thematic products. The project tackles the challenges associated with three types of surfaces: sea ice, land ice, and inland waters. To achieve this, St3TART-FO sets forth several objectives, including the identification and operation of super and opportunity sites, the acquisition, processing, and delivery of FRM for Cal/Val activities, and the characterization of uncertainties associated with each FRM data product and measurand. It also involves the exploitation of FRMs for Cal/Val activities, and the preparation of a roadmap for future altimetry missions beyond S3 STM, focusing on the cryosphere and hydrology.

The CRISTAL IN-PROVA project aims to provide a roadmap for the calibration and validation of the CRISTAL Level-2 data products, covering cryosphere (sea ice, icebergs, land ice) and inland water domains. Additionally, the project will provide tools to preliminarily assess the effectiveness of the proposed validation methods and measurements, as well as to evaluate the calibration and validation results by taking into account the mission requirements.