CryoSat-2 Level-2 Performance Monitoring

The performance of CryoSat-2 is monitored from the Level-2 products (GDR-A and L2i) produced by the ESA Instrument Processing Facility in all SIRAL acquisition modes (LRM, SAR and SARin). Maps and statistics of each monitored parameter are produced for every 30-day data take (cycle) since the start of the operational phase on 18-Oct-2010, globally and for the north and south polar regions, and for each product baseline.

Today (12-Oct-2026) is in cycle 195. GDR-A products become available about 35 days after acquisition, so the latest cycle that can have data is cycle 194 (25-Aug-2026 to 23-Sep-2026), which is completed as further products become available.

Latest Processed Cycles

Latest Input Data

Monitored Parameters

L2 Parameters: General

SIRAL Acquisition Mode

Global, Baseline-F, cycle 194

Surface Type

Global, Baseline-F, cycle 194

Surface Height

Global, Baseline-F, cycle 194

Backscatter (Sigma0)

Global, Baseline-F, cycle 194

Quality Flags

Global, Baseline-F, cycle 194

Geophysical Corrections

Global, Baseline-F, cycle 194

Mispointing Angle

Global, Baseline-F, cycle 194

Waveform Peakiness

Global, Baseline-F, cycle 194

L2 Parameters: Sea Ice

Sea Surface Height Anomaly

Global, Baseline-F, cycle 194

Snow Depth

Global, Baseline-F, cycle 194

Snow Density

Global, Baseline-F, cycle 194

Sea Ice Concentration

Global, Baseline-F, cycle 194

Radar Freeboard

Global, Baseline-F, cycle 194

Sea Ice Freeboard

Global, Baseline-F, cycle 194

Sea Ice Thickness

Global, Baseline-F, cycle 194

L2 Parameters: Derived

Crossover Height Differences

Antarctic Ice Sheet, Baseline-F, cycle 194

L2i Parameters

Retracker Range Correction

Global, Baseline-F, cycle 194

Retracker Flags

Global, Baseline-F, cycle 194

Discriminated Surface Type

Global, Baseline-F, cycle 194

SARin Discriminator Parameters

Global, Baseline-F, cycle 194

SARin Ambiguity Warning

Global, Baseline-F, cycle 194

Stack Beam Behaviour

Global, Baseline-F, cycle 194

Doppler Range Correction

Global, Baseline-F, cycle 194

LRM Slope Correction Attitude

Global, Baseline-F, cycle 194

About the Monitoring

• Results are organised by 30-day data takes (cycles), numbered from cycle 1 starting at 00:00 UTC on 18-Oct-2010.
• Each parameter is mapped and summarised for the areas: Global, North Polar (>60N), South Polar (<60S), Antarctic Ice Sheet, Greenland Ice Sheet.
• Flag parameters are summarised by the percentage of each flag value, and physical parameters by their mean, median and standard deviation.
• See the documentation for details of the processing.