DC-8 - AFRC 11/09/18 - 11/10/18
From: | SAWH | To: | SAWH | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Start: | 11/09/18 13:08 Z | Finish: | 11/10/18 00:13 Z | ||
Flight Time: | 11.1 hours | ||||
Log Number: | 198006 | PI: | Joseph MacGregor | ||
Funding Source: | Bruce Tagg - NASA - SMD - ESD Airborne Science Program | ||||
Purpose of Flight: | Science | ||||
Comments: | The NASA DC-8 OIB team completed the low priority Support Force Upper Blackwell IS-2 mission today. All OIB remote sensing instruments operated nominally except for the SWIR channels on the Headwall imaging spectrometer which had some problems. The aircraft returned to Ushuaia with no writeups. |
198006 | |
---|---|
Flight Hours Approved in SOFRS | 345.8 |
Total Used | 292.8 |
Total Remaining | 53 |
198006 Flight Reports | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Flt # | Purpose of Flight | Duration | Running Total | Hours Remaining | Miles Flown |
10/02/18 | 1287 | Check | 2.6 | 2.6 | 343.2 | 0 |
10/08/18 | 1289 | Transit | 10.1 | 12.7 | 333.1 | 0 |
10/08/18 | 1290 | Transit | 2.8 | 15.5 | 330.3 | 0 |
10/10/18 - 10/11/18 | 1291 | Science | 11.5 | 27 | 318.8 | 0 |
10/11/18 - 10/12/18 | 1292 | Science | 11.6 | 38.6 | 307.2 | 0 |
10/12/18 - 10/13/18 | 1293 | Science | 11.3 | 49.9 | 295.9 | 0 |
10/13/18 - 10/14/18 | 1294 | Science | 10.7 | 60.6 | 285.2 | 0 |
10/15/18 - 10/16/18 | 1295 | Science | 11.1 | 71.7 | 274.1 | 0 |
10/16/18 - 10/17/18 | 1296 | Science | 10.1 | 81.8 | 264 | 0 |
10/18/18 - 10/19/18 | 1297 | Science | 11.1 | 92.9 | 252.9 | 0 |
10/19/18 - 10/20/18 | 1298 | Science | 10.8 | 103.7 | 242.1 | 0 |
10/20/18 - 10/21/18 | 1299 | Science | 10.7 | 114.4 | 231.4 | 0 |
10/22/18 - 10/23/18 | 1300 | Science | 11.1 | 125.5 | 220.3 | 0 |
10/27/18 - 10/28/18 | 1301 | Science | 11.3 | 136.8 | 209 | 0 |
10/30/18 - 10/31/18 | 1302 | Science | 11.7 | 148.5 | 197.3 | 0 |
10/31/18 - 11/01/18 | 1303 | Science | 11.3 | 159.8 | 186 | 0 |
11/01/18 | 1304 | Transit | 0.6 | 160.4 | 185.4 | 0 |
11/03/18 - 11/04/18 | 1305 | Science | 11 | 171.4 | 174.4 | 0 |
11/04/18 | 1306 | Science | 10.8 | 182.2 | 163.6 | 0 |
11/05/18 | 1307 | Science | 10.4 | 192.6 | 153.2 | 0 |
11/07/18 | 1308 | Science | 10.4 | 203 | 142.8 | 0 |
11/09/18 - 11/10/18 | 1309 | Science | 11.1 | 214.1 | 131.7 | 0 |
11/10/18 - 11/11/18 | 1310 | Science | 10.6 | 224.7 | 121.1 | 0 |
11/11/18 | 1311 | Science | 10.8 | 235.5 | 110.3 | 0 |
11/12/18 | 1312 | Science | 10.7 | 246.2 | 99.6 | 0 |
11/14/18 - 11/15/18 | 1313 | Science | 11.2 | 257.4 | 88.4 | 0 |
11/15/18 | 1314 | Science | 10.3 | 267.7 | 78.1 | 0 |
11/16/18 - 11/17/18 | 1315 | Science | 10.1 | 277.8 | 68 | 0 |
11/19/18 | 1316 | Transit | 3.4 | 281.2 | 64.6 | 0 |
11/21/18 | 1317 | Transit | 11.6 | 292.8 | 53 | 0 |
Flight Reports began being entered into this system as of 2012 flights. If there were flights flown under an earlier log number the flight reports are not available online.
OIB - DC-8 - AFRC 11/09/18 Science Report
Mission: Support Force / Upper Blackwall IS-2
Priority: Low
This new flight is designed to survey the channel of Support Force and upper Blackwall Glacier, mostly along ICESat-2 ground tracks. For these tracks, we specifically target the strong beam of each beam pair. The cross-flow lines also address gaps in Bedmap-2 coverage.
We were yet again faced with very challenging weather west of the Antarctic Peninsula and at the pole, and poor conditions for our one remaining baseline mission east thereof (West Weddell). We thus selected one of two low-priority missions with clear skies and a good forecast, opting for the one that most tightly constrained. We performed a ramp pass at 1200 ft AGL. We transited over the Antarctic Peninsula at high altitude and observed cloudy conditions on the north end of Larsen C, but otherwise excellent views of most of the Antarctic Peninsula. Clouds returned across most of the Ronne Ice Shelf, but conditions were clear as we descended and throughout our survey. While surveying Support Force Ice Stream, we passed in between the sub-ranges on the northern end of the Pensacola Mountains. Those four tracks proceeded quickly and uneventfully. To cross the two fluxgates across Blackwall Ice Stream as straight as possible, we performed 270º turns prior to surveying those fluxgates. All instruments performed well, except for the SWIR channels on the Headwall imaging spectrometer, for which an issue was experienced mid-flight and data collection was limited.
Thomas Prior, a National Geographic photographer, joined us again for this mission, and Adrian Uzubiga from a local Argentinian television station (Canal 13), also joined us, conducting multiple interviews and collecting footage.
For the six ICESat-2 RGTs we surveyed today (4 Support Force, 2 Blackwall), their latencies were:
RGT / Latency (days, positive = OIB underflight ahead of ICESat-2)
1198 / +37 days
817 / +12
314 / -21
1320 / +45
466 / -11
1167 / +35
Finally, here is an example of the data volumes collected during today’s three hours of survey time:
ATM on/off UTC 17:25–20:25
ATM T6 54 GB
ATM T7 green 71 GB
ATM T7 IR 67 GB
ATM percentage 100%
CAMBOT 87 GB
FLIR 7 GB
Headwall 60 GB
MCoRDS 778 GB
Snow radar 606 GB
AIRGrav 4.0 GB
Attached images:
1. Map of today’s mission (John Sonntag / NASA)
2. Panorama of outlet glaciers on western flank of northwestern Antarctic Peninsula (Ray Perigo / CReSIS)
3. DC-8 shadow over Support Force Ice Stream (Joe MacGregor / NASA)
4. Conically shaped sastrugi on the surface of Support Force Ice Stream (Joe MacGregor / NASA)