Delta-X: AirSWOT L3 Water Surface Elevations, MRD, Louisiana, 2021, Version 2

AirSWOT uses near-nadir wide-swath Ka-band radar interferometry to measure water-surface elevation and produce continuous gridded elevation data. The Level 3 (L3) data were created by masking land areas out of the AirSWOT Level 2 products, then filtering and averaging to the AirSWOT heights to produce water surface elevations at selected points throughout the scene.

The AirSWOT elevation data are useful for calibrating elevation and slopes along the main channels, as well as tying observations to open ocean tidal conditions. AirSWOT performance in the floodplain was limited by the presence of vegetation and the very small slope characteristic of two dimensional floodplain discharge. Therefore, the bulk of the AirSWOT data collections were targeted at the larger channels, since the channel discharge provides the necessary boundary conditions for potential overflow to islands and floodplains.