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The GANDER project

Over the last two decades the satellite missions designed to monitor the sea surface have been single platform, polar-orbiting missions which, by completing around 14 orbits of the spinning earth each day, can build up a substantial global database of the oceans' surface features to reveal patterns of gradual climatological change. Fourteen passes a day leaves a gap at the equator of around 3000km between contiguous orbits, however, and this is much too wide for the wave/wind measuring altimeter to provide information on sea state frequently enough to be of day-to-day operational value. To be precisely located and tracked, storm centres require to be observed every few hours. The only way of widening the applications of satellite data to the much larger community of marine operators is therefore to launch a constellation of platforms carrying a dedicated wave/wind measuring altimeters.

GANDER, for Global Altimeter Network Designed to Evaluate Risk, is the brainchild of SOS who have teamed with Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd, Britain's leading manufacturer of small satellites, to raise the capital required for the development and launch of a first phase of 4 to 6 microsats each weighing around 80 kg. The reliability of present-day forecasts - which often have trouble in pinpointing the extreme events that damage and delay ships, cost the marine insurance industry $2.5 billion and claim 1500 lives annually - will be increased at a stroke. For now it will be possible to check the accuracy of wave model forecasts against real observations and allow ships access to the location and severity of storms in their vicinity. The total cost of this first phase is estimated to be no more than 1% the cost of Envisat, Europe's environmental research spacecraft weighing in at 2000kg.

If the first phase proves successful a decision will be taken on increasing the number in the constellation to perhaps between12 and 18 to provide ever more frequent updates of stormy conditions to ships at sea. A cost/benefit study of the gains to shipping in reducing weather risk is presently underway. When completed this will be used to demonstrate the value of a joint investment in GANDER by both the public and private sectors.

For more information, visit the GANDER web pages.