MODIS Airborne Simulator
Field Experiment Data
FIRE-ACE Campaign
Flight #98-069

Hi-Res Image
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27 May 1998
Track #07


"Polar ice cap edge west of Barrow, Alaska"

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27 May 1998
Track #08


"Multilayer cloud decks cover polar ice sheets north of Ledyard Bay, Alaska"

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28 May 1998
Track #16


"Wispy cirrus clouds cover Teshekpuk Lake near Alaska's northern shore"

R: 2.13 microns
G: 0.95 microns
B: 0.65 microns
Summary Information
Date: May 27-28, 1998
ER-2 Flight Number: 98-069
Location: Fairbanks,Alaska to Arctic Ocean
Principal Investigator: Dr. Michael King (NASA GSFC)
Additional Sensors: AirMISR, AMPR, CLS, HIS, MIR, SSFR (see Instrument Status, below)

Level-1B Processing Information
Level-1B Data Version: #02
Calibration Type: Final
Calibration Version: FIRE-ACE_Ames 1.0
Details: Configuration and Calibration
Temperature Adjustment: No
Status: Processed with Final Calibration

Flight Track Map

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Level-1B Browse Imagery
Straight Line Flight Tracks: 19
Scanlines Processed: 90477
Solar Azimuth and Zenith Angles
Browse Images
Click on the Flight Track number to load images.
Lat/Lon ranges are for the BEG-END scanline nadir pixels.
Flight
Track
Time_Span
(GMT)
Heading
(Deg)
Lat_Range
(Deg_N)
Lon_Range
(Deg_W)
Length
(Scanlines)
01 20:36-20:58 335 67.24-69.55 150.14-153.40 8405
02 20:58-21:21 332 69.56-71.82 153.39-157.48 8394
03 21:24-21:26 130 71.96-71.82 157.03-156.49 735
04 21:27-21:28 196 71.70-71.56 156.35-156.48 505
05 21:30-21:36 243 71.44-71.16 156.98-158.76 2106
06 21:36-21:53 245 71.16-70.32 158.84-164.01 6265
07 21:57-22:19 348 70.26-72.66 163.43-165.38 7984
08 22:19-22:40 346 72.66-75.01 165.37-167.87 7977
09 22:40-23:00 1 75.07-77.27 167.93-167.93 7236
10 23:06-23:28 181 77.51-75.01 167.94-167.95 8189
11 23:29-23:53 148 74.91-72.54 167.65-162.57 8973
12 23:53-23:55 149 72.53-72.40 162.66-162.40 493
13 23:55-23:59 146 72.40-72.01 162.38-161.53 1520
14 00:00-00:18 111 71.95-71.14 161.14-155.28 6636
15 00:19-00:20 149 71.07-70.94 155.15-154.93 479
16 00:20-00:30 152 70.91-69.93 154.87-153.38 3606
17 00:31-00:45 154 69.83-68.44 153.21-151.37 5088
18 00:45-00:58 156 68.44-67.02 151.37-149.74 5094
19 00:58-01:00 158 67.00-66.77 149.74-149.50 792
Images 01 through 19 in sequence

Level-0 Data Quality
Evaluation Report

Level-1B HDF Data Distribution Point
Order Form (NASA LaRC Atmospheric Sciences Data Center)

ER-2 Flight Log
Author: Dr. Michael King
Mission Scientist: Dr. Michael King
ER-2 Pilot: Jan Nystrom
Takeoff: 27May1998 2010 UTC
Landing: 28May1998 0140 UTC
Flight Duration: 5:30

Objective:

    The objective of this mission was to overfly the ARM site and open water west of Barrow, flying roughly parallel to the coast, then continue on to SHEBA (76°31.5’N, 167°56.03’W) and fly two ground tracks of 260 km in length with north-south heading. Return flight flown parallel to NOAA-14 ground track (heading 327.54°).

Coordinations:

    ER-2 take-off was delayed by 70 minutes in order to match the NOAA-14 overpass time on the return leg. Other coordinations included:
    • F-14 satellite (2315 UTC)
    • NOAA-14 satellite (2349 UTC)

Key Flight Legs:

    After overflying the ARM site at point 1 (71°19.37'N, 156°34.9'W), the ER-2 flew a SW flight line off shore and paralleling the coast to a location of about 70°N, 163°W. The aircraft then flew northward to point 2 (75°00'N, 167°56.03'W) to begin two north-south overpasses over the SHEBA ice station (point 2 to point 3 and back to point 2). Each flight leg was 260 km in length. After returning to point 2, the aircraft flew a 380 km leg at a heading of 327.54° to parallel the NOAA-14 flight track. The return leg overflew the ARM site en route back to Ft. Wainwright.

    The AirMISR was turned on for 6 acquisitions: over the ARM site, on the coastal flight leg, twice over SHEBA, and on the NOAA-flight leg, and once again over the ARM site on the return. The AirMISR operated at the following times with pilot notes regarding observed clouds:

    • 2112-2135 (ARM site - low thin scattered clouds)
    • 2137-2146 UTC (Coastal leg - scattered broken)
    • 2250-2259 UTC (SHEBA - overcast multiple layers)
    • 2311-2320 UTC (SHEBA - overcast)
    • 2345-2354 UTC (NOAA-14 - broken clouds)
    • 0010-0019 UTC (ARM - overcast)

Pilot Report:

    The ER-2 pilot reported broken clouds over the coastal leg with some clear sky to the western end of the leg, and possibly to the beginning of the leg. Multilayer clouds were reported during the SHEBA overpass.

Meteorology:

    The ship reported freezing rain, cloud layers at 2-3.5 and 4.5-5.5 km, with some cirrus at 9 km. Winds at the surface were 20 kts from the east with a surface temperature of -5 C. The surface high pressure system moved east near the Canadian Islands. The upper air ridge over the Beaufort Sea weakened slightly, but is still minimizing cloud cover in the Beaufort Sea. Surface and upper level winds were forecast to be southerly at both Barrow and SHEBA.

Instrument Status:

  • AirMISR (Airborne Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer): runs 1-4 collected all 9 look angles, run 5 data gathered at all angles but only three (+70.5, + 60, +45.6) with correct angles, run 6 failed
  • AMPR (Advanced Microwave Precipitation Radiometer): Worked well
  • CLS (Cloud Lidar System): Worked well
  • HIS (High-resolution Interferometer Sounder): Worked well
  • MAS (MODIS Airborne Simulator): Worked well
  • MIR (Millimeter-wave Imaging Radiometer): Worked well
  • SSFR (Solar Spectral Flux Radiometer): Worked well

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