CryoSat Turns its Hand to Measuring Storm Surges

The satellite CryoSat's main role is, as its name suggests, to measure sea ice thickness. However, the ESA have been busy repurposing its altimeter so as it can measure sea level, even close to land.  They've used this to measure the European storm surge, and validate some models in the process. It's a taste of what Sentinel-3 will offer us, another satellite that has similar instruments to CryoSat, but is focussed on measuring sea-surface topography.