Are Jason-2 significant wave height measurements still useful

Abstract

Jason-2 was launched on June 20, 2008. The main payload of Jason-2 is a radar altimeter that measures, among other variables, significant wave height (SWH) and surface wind speed. To compliment the 25-year reference altimetry record, Jason-2 left its orbit to its younger sibling Jason-3 which was launched on January 17, 2016 and became operational on October 14, 2016. Jason-2 was then moved to another location on the same orbit till July 2017 when it was moved to a new long-repeat orbit (LRO) for the first geodetic cycle. Then it was moved to an interleaved long repeat orbit (i-LRO) in July 2018 for the second geodetic cycle. Jason-2 continued to provide SWH and wind speed measurements. After more than 10 years in space, a few orbit changes and going through few operational disruptions the question is whether Jason-2 SWH (and wind speed) measurements are useful. The simple answer is that Jason-2 SWH data are as useful as similar data from any other altimeter in space and are as effective in reducing the model random SWH errors through wave data assimilation. It is recommended to keep Jason-2 in orbit and to support the provision of its ocean wave data in near real time for as long period as possible.