Lake Surface Height Calibration of Jason-1 and Jason-2 Over the Great Lakes

This study presents results of Jason-1 (J1) and Jason-2 (J2) radar altimetry absolute calibration (cal/val) over the Marblehead lake water level gauge, with an aid of a GPS buoy, in Lake Erie, the Great Lakes, in North America. The altimeter bias is estimated using the height difference between the altimeter lake surface height and the in situ data in each altimeter 10-day repeat cycle. The altimeter bias estimates for J1 are 81 +/- 2 and 70 +/- 2 mm for Geophysical Data Record (GDR) Versions 'B' and 'C', respectively, and 148 +/- 5 mm (GDR) and 147 +/- 7 mm (IGDR) for J2, respectively. The bias estimates are slightly smaller compared with estimates at other dedicated calibration sites such as the Harvest Platform, the Corsica Site, and the Bass Strait site due in part to the effect of the sea state bias. The J2-to-J1 relative bias determined in the tandem mode over Lake Erie is 84 +/- 28 mm, which agrees well with the results from the global analysis and the dedicated sites aforementioned.