Broadview Radar Altimetry Toolbox

The Broadview Radar Altimetry Toolbox (BRAT) is a comprehensive suite of tools and tutorials designed to simplify the processing, analysis, and visualization of radar altimetry data.

Developed collaboratively by ESA and CNES, BRAT is open-source software (GPLv3) and freely available to the altimetry community. It supports both 32-bit and 64-bit systems across Windows, macOS, and Linux platforms. The BRAT suite primarily consists of command-line tools, with the BRAT GUI serving as a user-friendly frontend.

BRAT key features and capabilities are:

• Data access:
  BRAT can read data from all past and present altimetry missions, including ERS-1 and ERS-2, Topex/Poseidon, Geosat Follow-On, Jason-1 and Jason-2, Envisat, CryoSat, and Sentinel-3. It supports various data types, ranging from Sensor Geophysical Data Records to gridded merged datasets.
• Processing:
  Users can perform complex computations using predefined formulas for oceanographic altimetry or define custom combinations of data fields. Results can be saved for future use.
• Visualization and format conversion:
  BRAT enables quick visualization of data and allows conversion to multiple formats, such as NetCDF, ASCII, KML (for Google Earth), and raster image formats (e.g., JPEG, PNG).
• Integration with programming environments:
  BRAT provides an API for seamless integration with MATLAB, IDL, Python, C, C++, and Fortran. This eliminates the complexities of data formatting and allows direct programmatic access to desired data.

The Radar Altimetry Tutorial provides a detailed overview of applications, use cases, and techniques, including standard data processing workflows. It also covers past, current, and upcoming satellite missions equipped with radar altimeters, along with a comprehensive range of altimetry products such as data, software, and documentation. Video tutorials are also available on a dedicated YouTube BRAT channel. Finally, training material is available in the dedicated BRAT training resource.