MODIS Airborne Simulator (MAS)

1. Overfly Sua Pan PARABOLA instrument site (20° 34.5´ S, 26° 04.9´ E) on a NW-SE oriented 12 minute line for AirMISR (3 lines),
2. Fly last line of the Sua Pan PARABOLA instrument site offset 3km to the Southwest,
3. Overfly Maun (19° 55´ S, 23° 36´ E) on a 12 minute AirMISR leg,
4. Underfly TOMS orbital track (0957 UTC overpass) for 30 minute leg,
5. Overfly Tshane (24° 09.8´ S, 21° 53.6´ E) and Okwa River (22° 24.6´ S, 21° 42.8´ E) on a 12 minute AirMISR leg,
6. Overfly Murchisan Lineament (23° 45´ S, 31° 18´ E to 25° 23´ S, 31° 40´ E) for surface emissivity studies with SHIS and MAS.

The ER-2 launch was delayed by about 10 minutes for local winds and commercial aircraft activity. It flew northwest from Pietersburg to line up on Sua Pan AirMISR line. Three lines were run (~0854, 0919, 0940 UTC). Skies were clear for all runs. Pilot noted very poor visibility on these runs. Anomalous performance of AirMISR indicated in the cockpit. Maun line was partly cloudy (alto cu) as was the TOMS line, which the ER-2 arrived at about 12 minutes after overpass due to delay in launch. Because of cloud cover, Tshane and Okwa River runs were skipped and ER-2 finished with Murchisan Lineament run which was partly cloudy in the western half and clear in the eastern half.

TOMS under flight (partly cloudy), AirMISR over Sua Pan.

• No sites flown on this mission

N/A

Cold front moving away to the east with Atlantic high ridging eastwards and starting to bulge out on the east coast. Cooler moist lower level air spreading northwards into the Mpumalanga and Northern province lowveld. A band of middle level cloud beneath an upper jet stream lies from central Namibia, through Botswana to the Gauteng and Mpumalanga highveld. Skies will be cloudy today along the eastern seaboard and adjacent interior and over the Mpumalanga lowveld. Low cloud will spread northwards into the lowveld of the Northern Province during the day. Partly cloudy over the central areas of Namibia, Botswana, Gauteng and the Mpumalanga highveld. Very isolated thundershowers are possible in these areas. Moist air from Zaire is spreading southwards and thundershowers are also expected over northwestern Zambia.

• AirMISR: no data
• CLS: Lidar worked properly, but navigation data not recorded
• LAS: not operated (ballast)
• MAS: worked well
• MOPITT-A: worked well
• SHIS: operated in nadir mode; no data
• SSFR: worked well