2009 Annual Report - NASA Airborne Science Program

High Winds
Science Focus:
HQ Sponsor:
PI:
Water and Energy Cycle
Entin
Dinardo
L-band microwave radiometry is the key remote
sensing technique for NASA’s Aquarius satellite
mission for ocean surface salinity research. The
L-band radiometry acquires ocean surface brightness
temperatures (TB), which respond to the change
of sea surface salinity. To achieve accurate surface
salinity measurements, the impact of ocean surface
winds on L-band TB has to be corrected.
In February and March 2009, JPL’s Passive
and Active L-System (PALS) and Polarimetric
Scatterometer (PolSCAT) were installed on the
NASA P-3 research aircraft to acquire coincident
L-band radiometer and radar data over a wide range
of ocean surface wind speed.
The overall objective for the High-Winds’09 mission
was to fly five instruments over predetermined flight
lines over the North-Atlantic Ocean and Labrador
Sea, based from Goose Bay, Newfoundland and
Labrador, Canada. Engineering and program test
flights were based from NASA WFF. All science
team success criteria were determined by JPL PAL /
PolSCAT science team.
Success criteria for High-Winds’09 were as follows:
• To acquire PALS and PolSCAT, passive
and active microwave data to enable the
development of algorithm during high wind
conditions.
• L-band microwave RFI detection and GPS
reflection systems will be tested.
• Dropping Airborne eXpendable Conductivity
Temperature Depth (AXCTD) probes to study
the near surface salinity signature
The GISMOS and GPSRS systems flew as piggyback
instruments to collect data during High-Winds’09
allotted flights.
Figure 14:
P-3 performing PALS navigation calibration
on Goose Bay taxi way.
Figure 15:
P-3 belly, PALS installed in the forward white
radome, PolSCAT in the aft black radome.
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