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MODIS Airborne Simulator (MAS)

FLIGHT SUMMARY INFORMATION

Flight Track Map
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Flight: 03-919
Date: 06 December 2002
Location: Texas / Gulf of Mexico (night)
Deployment: TX-2002
Principal Investigators: Drs. Paul Menzel & Chris Moeller (UWISC)
Additional Sensors: CPL, SHIS
Data Evaluation
Overall quality is good
AQUA Underflight @07:59
Processing Information
Level-1B Data in HDF format is available
Flight Line Summary
Spectral Band Configuration
Spectral Response Function Table
Browse Imagery
Flight Tracks: 9
Scanlines: 50461
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 05:53 - 06:01 97.5 29.408 - 29.274 95.942 - 94.906 2935 19663
2 06:01 - 06:20 94.4 29.274 - 29.190 94.899 - 92.354 7179 19980
3 06:23 - 06:35 192.3 29.037 - 27.709 92.061 - 92.390 4547 19961
4 06:36 - 07:00 248.7 27.629 - 26.755 92.465 - 95.121 8960 19915
5 07:03 - 07:16 7.6 26.916 - 28.403 95.335 - 94.947 5128 19866
6 07:19 - 07:33 199.0 28.362 - 26.835 94.752 - 95.165 5379 19919
7 07:36 - 07:50 7.4 26.910 - 28.373 95.337 - 94.955 5050 19938
8 07:52 - 08:05 199.2 28.333 - 26.935 94.774 - 95.138 4923 19862
9 08:07 - 08:24 298.2 26.865 - 27.704 95.296 - 97.022 6360 19561
Images 01 through 09 in sequence
Flight Summary Report

Mission Objectives

Collect nighttime low level stratus scenes for validating Aqua MODIS Cloud Mask and L1B.

Flight Summary

Take-off at 0530 UTC.  ER-2 landed at 0905 UTC.

ER-2 flew east from SAT to Aqua suborbital track south of Louisiana coast, reaching there about 90 minutes before Aqua overpass.  Flew a 12 minute leg towards SSW along Aqua suborbital track with low stratus undercast along entire line.  Then proceeded west to racetrack pattern (12 minute legs) oriented parallel to Aqua orbital track (22 deg offnadir view from Aqua).  Did two orbits of racetrack, meeting Aqua (0759 UTC) on easternmost leg of 2nd orbit.  Single layer low stratus undercast present on both legs of both orbits, except for the northern 10% which was cloud free.  ER-2 then returned to SAT.

Highlights

Nighttime low level stratus coverage over water background w/Aqua overpass.

Instrument Status
  • Modis Airborne Simulator (MAS): Operated. Good data.
  • NPOESS Atmospheric Sounder Testbed (NAST-I): Not Flown.
  • Cloud Physics Lidar (CPL): Operated. Good data.
  • Scanner High-Resolution Interferometer Sounder (S-HIS): Good data.
  • VIS video camera: Not Operated.
  • M/VIS mini video camera: Not Operated.
  • RC-10 Cameras: Not Operated.
Additional Pilot Notes:

Extended the racetrack lines by about 2 minutes (i.e. 12 minute legs became 16 minut e legs) at each end to time meeting the Aqua satellite as planned.

GOES Satellite Image
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Flight 03-919

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Sample Imagery
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Track #02
Gulf of Mexico
(Southeast of Texas)
Click to load the full resolution image Flight Direction Indicator
R: 11.01µm
G: 8.54µm
B: 3.74µm