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MODIS Airborne Simulator (MAS)

FLIGHT SUMMARY INFORMATION

Flight Track Map
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Flight: 00-160
Date: 11 September 2000
Location: South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, and Atlantic Ocean
Deployment: SAFARI
Principal Investigator: Dr. Michael King (NASA GSFC)
Flight Scientist: Dr. Steven Platinick (NASA GSFC)
Additional Sensors: AirMISR, CLS, LAS, MOPITT-A, S-HIS, & SSFR
Objective: To understand the key linkages between the physical, chemical and biological processes, including human activities, that comprise the southern African biogeophysical system.

Data Evaluation
Overall quality is good

Processing Information
Level-1B Data in HDF format is available
Flight Line Summary
Spectral Band Configuration
Spectral Response Function Table

Browse Imagery
Flight Tracks: 22
Scanlines: 154121

Browse Imagery Table
Click a Flight Track number to view a quicklook image
Lat/Lon ranges are for the BEG-END scanline nadir pixels
Flight
Track
Time Span
(GMT)
Heading
(Deg)
Lat Range
(Deg North)
Lon Range
(Deg West)
Length
(scanlines)
Altitude
(meters)
1 08:28-08:55 287 23.48-22.63 27.77-24.62 9999 18845
1 06:52-07:19 253 24.46-25.41 27.11-24.08 10000 19010
2 07:19-07:46 253 25.41-26.32 24.08-20.96 10000 19593
3 07:46-08:12 254 26.32-27.14 20.96-17.78 10000 19695
4 08:12-08:40 257 27.14-27.91 17.78-14.47 10354 19730
5 08:41-09:08 304 27.90-26.05 14.38-11.77 10000 19765
6 09:08-09:11 310 26.05-25.83 11.77-11.48 1148 19726
7 09:12-09:38 10 25.73-22.82 11.43-12.11 10000 19708
8 09:38-10:06 15 22.82-19.84 12.11-12.79 10289 19803
9 10:07-10:28 335 19.77-17.73 12.78-11.49 7911 19727
10 10:32-10:54 149 17.89-19.97 11.21-12.48 8181 19778
11 10:54-11:03 168 20.01-20.99 12.50-12.64 3316 19852
12 11:03-11:30 139 21.04-23.25 12.66-14.75 10000 19405
13 11:30-11:38 139 23.25-23.94 14.75-15.42 3043 18934
14 11:42-11:51 36 23.93-23.14 15.27-15.92 3382 18726
15 11:52-12:19 95 23.10-23.37 16.03-19.34 10000 18839
16 12:19-12:46 95 23.37-23.57 19.34-22.67 10000 18981
17 12:46-13:13 95 23.57-23.69 22.67-25.93 10000 19135
18 13:13-13:30 102 23.69-23.79 25.93-28.07 6559 19183
19 13:30-13:49 47 23.80-23.16 28.11-29.68 6742 18930
20 13:49-14:03 82 23.15-23.93 29.68-29.49 5441 18655
21 14:03-14:11 99 23.95-23.90 29.50-29.11 2956 18592
22 14:11-14:20 40 23.88-23.15 29.14-29.69 3057 18640
Images 01 through 22 in sequence
Flight Summary Report

Author: Steve Platnick
Mission Scientist: Dr. Michael King
ER-2 Pilot: Jan Nystrom
Takeoff: 0620 (UTC)
Landing: 1525 (UTC)
Duration: 9:18* (h:mm)
* landing delayed due to high crosswinds in Pietersburg, extending the original 8 hour flight

Objective and Summary:

  1. Underfly Terra off the west coast of Namibia for clear sky and cloud validation,
  2. Observe outflow and possibly a berg wind with accompanying dust off Luderitz, Namibia,
  3. Image geological features of the Kuiseb River Canyon along with sand dunes to the south, desert pavement to the north,
  4. Overfly the Matimba Power Station in northeast RSA and a burn scar at Madikwe Game Park, RSA.

The UK C130, based in Windhoek, Namibia, obtained in situ cloud sampling coordinated with the ER-2 towards the two northern ER-2 flight tracks paralleling the northern Namibia coast. The University of Washington CV-580, now based in Walvis Bay, Namibia flew a clear sky mission off the Namibian coast during the Terra/ER-2 overflight.

Key Flight Legs:

N/A

Highlights:

ER-2 clear sky and coastal stratus run off northern Namibia coincident and directly under the Terra overpass; ER-2/C130 coordination in stratus; Kuiseb River Canyon.

AERONET sites were overflown during this mission:

  • Walvis Bay, Namibia (22° 55´ S, 14° 30´ E)

Pilot Report:

The ER-2 line along Terra included clear sky to the south and stratocumulus to the north.

Meteorology:

Monday's forecast (Steve Medcalf, SAWB): A high pressure cell dominates the central and eastern parts of South Africa with a trough over the western areas and a coastal low on the namibian coast. Cloudy in the northeast of South Africa and the southern parts of Zimbabwe. Fog patches over the northern Namibian coast and generally fine weather elsewhere with an offshore flow along the southern Namibian and Cape west coasts.

ER-2 Science Instrument Payload Status

  • AirMISR: no data
  • CLS: Lidar worked properly, but navigation data not recorded
  • LAS: operational
  • MAS: worked well
  • MOPITT-A: worked well
  • SHIS: operated in nadir mode
  • SSFR: worked well
  • RC-10: worked well

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Flight 00-160

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Sample Imagery
Click image for full resolution
Track #13
Namibia
Click to load the full resolution image Flight Direction Indicator
R: 2.15µm
G: 1.64µm
B: 0.55µm

Sample Imagery
Click image for full resolution
Track #15
Namibia
Click to load the full resolution image Flight Direction Indicator
R: 2.15µm
G: 1.64µm
B: 0.55µm