
Sentinel-3
Monitoring the marine environment and atmospheric composition


Sentinel-3 is a dedicated Copernicus satellite mission delivering a variety of high-quality ocean and atmosphere measurements.
The mission's main objective in support to the marine environment is to determine parameters such as sea-surface topography, sea-surface temperature and ocean surface colour. It provides two day global coverage optical data (with two satellites), as well as altimetry measurements, for sea and land applications with real-time products delivered in less than three hours. The instruments also provide a view on the atmosphere, including information on air quality and fires. The satellites are operationally managed from the EUMETSAT Sentinel-3 Marine Centre.
- Builds on heritage of previous ocean observing satellites (e.g. ENVISAT) for continuity of measurements.
- Constellation of satellites will provide long-term operational measurements of the ocean colour, temperature, and sea surface topography over the global ocean every two days.
- Improved combination of spatial, temporal and spectral resolution, and better radiometric sensitivity allows for measurements of ocean colour from coastal to open ocean environments.
- Advanced dual view sensor for atmospheric correction and retrieval of sea surface temperature.
- High-resolution SAR mode altimetry for improved performance in the coastal domain and analysis of fine-scale ocean features.
- Data is delivered direct to users and to downstream Copernicus services.
Past launch dates
Satellite | Launch date | Details |
---|---|---|
Sentinel-3A | 16 February 2016 | Altimetry Ocean colour Surface thermal radiometry |
Sentinel-3B | 25 April 2018 | Altimetry Ocean colour Surface thermal radiometry |
- The Sentinel-3 mission is part of the European Commission's Copernicus programme for earth observation.
- The satellites provide land and ocean data, with the land data delivered by ESA, while EUMETSAT will be responsible for both the operation of the satellite and the processing and delivery of ocean data and additional atmosphere-related products.
- The first two satellites (A and B) were initially operated in a temporary tandem phase to allow for instrument intercomparison.
- OLCI ocean colour data full resolution (300m) data is available globally.
- Sea surface temperature data from SLSTR is available at 1km resolution.
- Along track altimetry is available at 300m resolution, at 1Hz and 20Hz frequency in SAR mode.
- Multiple atmospheric correction methods and algorithms provide both open ocean and complex water products derived from the OLCI ocean colour reflectance data.
- Overlap between SLSTR and OLCI swaths allows for synergistic product use.

Previous
Sentinel-3 instruments and ground segment
Next
Previous
Sentinel-3 services
Next
Previous
Access Sentinel-3 services
Next
Previous
Latest Sentinel-3 news
Next
Previous
Latest Sentinel-3 products
Next
Previous
Sentinel-3 documents
Next
Previous
Sentinel-3 science studies
Next
Previous
Sentinel-3 case studies
Next
Previous
Podcasts
Next
Previous
User stories
Next
Previous
You may also be interested in...
Next