WHYMSIE-SGP

WestcoastHyperspectralMicrowaveSensorIntensiveExp

22 October 2024 - 15 November 2024

Lead Scientist: Alexander Kotsakis

Observatory: SGP

Through a partnership between NASA and NOAA, this field campaign will demonstrate the first-of-its-kind hyperspectral microwave airborne measurements (CoSMIR-H) and will be complemented by other passive (infrared, visible) and active (lidar) sensors onboard the NASA ER-2 aircraft. Serving as a future NASA planetary boundary-layer (PBL) mission prototype, WHyMSIE aims to capture a wide variety of thermodynamic, moisture, and PBL regimes across a variety of surface types. Flight plans for the ER-2 involve overflying the ARM Southern Great Plains (SGP) central facility (CF) and the surrounding extended facility (EF) sites to ensure maximum scientific value for understanding and validating the retrieved temperature and water vapor profiles from the WHyMSIE instrument payload. The CF site will be of prime focus due to the well-observed surface characteristics and measurements of skin temperature, which are key to constrain and validate passive retrievals over land surfaces. Radiosonde measurements will be our primary source of validation for temperature and water vapor profiles retrieved from CoSMIR-H. Radiosondes will be primarily launched from the SGP CF site, with some radiosondes also expected to be launched at EF sites. Comparing hyperspectral microwave retrievals from CoSMIR-H with in situ temperature and humidity information will allow for scientific advancement of remote-sensing techniques into the hyperspectral microwave era and improved understanding of the PBL at different measurement scales.