Description

The AIRMISR_SNOW_ICE_2001 data were acquired during the Colorado snow albedo field experiment in the Yampa Valley of Colorado during February and March, 2001. This experiment focused on snow albedo and atmospheric characterization as part of a validation effort for estimating snow albedo from the Multiangle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data. The validation site is located at 40.4N, 106.8W, just south of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. AirMISR and MODIS Airborne Simulator (MAS) data were collected on March 8, 2001. The Airborne Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (AirMISR) is an airborne instrument for obtaining multi-angle imagery similar to that of the satellite-borne Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument, which is designed to contribute to studies of the Earth's ecology and climate. AirMISR flies on the NASA ER-2 aircraft. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California built the instrument for NASA. Unlike the satellite-borne MISR instrument, which has nine cameras oriented at various angles, AirMISR uses a single camera in a pivoting gimbal mount. A data run by the ER-2 aircraft is divided into nine segments, each with the camera positioned to a MISR look angle. The gimbal rotates between successive segments, such that each segment acquires data over the same area on the ground as the previous segment. This process is repeated until all nine angles of the target area are collected. The swath width, which varies from 11 km in the nadir to 32 km at the most oblique angle, is governed by the camera's instantaneous field-of-view of 7 meters cross-track x 6 meters along-track in the nadir view and 21 meters x 55 meters at the most oblique angle. The along-track image length at each angle is dictated by the timing required to obtain overlap imagery at all angles, and varies from about 9 km in the nadir to 26 km at the most oblique angle. Thus, the nadir image dictates the area of overlap that is obtained from all nine angles. A complete flight run takes approximately 13 minutes. The 9 camera viewing angles are: 0 degrees or nadir 26.1 degrees, fore and aft 45.6 degrees, fore and aft 60.0 degrees, fore and aft 70.5 degrees, fore and aft. For each of the camera angles, images are obtained at 4 spectral bands. The spectral bands can be used to identify vegetation and aerosols, estimate surface reflectance and for ocean color studies. The center wavelengths of the 4 spectral bands are: 443 nanometers, blue 555 nanometers, green 670 nanometers, red 865 nanometers, near-infrared. Two types of AirMISR data products are available - the Level 1 Radiometric product (L1B1) and the Level 1 Georectified radiance product (L1B2).

DOI

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Citation Styles for this Dataset

Resources and Documentation

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Earthdata Forum

DOWNLOAD SOFTWARE

AirMISR L1B2/L2AS Coregistration Tool - Direct File Download (.tar)

MISR Paths Tool - Direct File Download (.kml)

AirMISR L1B2/L2AS Coregistration Tool IDL source code - Direct File Download (.pro)

AirMISR L1B2/L2AS Coregistration Tool IDL executable save file (use with the IDL Virtual Machine) - Direct File Download (.sav)

GET RELATED VISUALIZATION

ASDC List of MISR Imagery and Articles

AirMISR Campaign Imagery: Red Band Browse Images from the AIRMISR_SNOW_ICE_2001 Field Mission, March 8, 2001

GOTO WEB TOOL

Google Earth

PROJECT HOME PAGE

AirMISR project home page

MISR project home page

VIEW RELATED INFORMATION

ALGORITHM THEORETICAL BASIS DOCUMENT (ATBD)

• NASA EOS ATB Documents: MISR

ANOMALIES

• ASDC Terra Spacecraft Loss of Accurate Orbit Data Record

DATA CITATION POLICY

• How to cite ASDC data

GENERAL DOCUMENTATION

• ASDC Data and Information for AirMISR
• ASDC Data and Information for MISR
• Links to tools available through the ASDC
• MISR Observing Concept Fact Sheet
• Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) Overview Fact Sheet

HOW-TO

• ASDC Documents for Using AirMISR Data
• Readme to open and read AIRMISR L1B2 GP (Georectified Radiance Product) HDF-EOS data files

MICRO ARTICLE

• NASA Earth Observatory Article: "Fiery Temperament" By Michon Scott, May 14, 2002

PI DOCUMENTATION

• MISR Workshop Presentations, June 2002 - August 2010
• Obtaining MISR Data and Information, Presented by Jeff Walter Atmospheric Science Data Center - April 17, 2009 - Direct File Download (.ppt)

PRODUCT QUALITY ASSESSMENT

• Quality Summary: AirMISR SNOW_ICE_2001

PRODUCT USAGE

• AirMISR Data Products Specifications, Rev. C, December 21, 2000
• Data Product Specification for MISR - Revision S, April 15, 2011
• MISR Science Data Product Guide - May 7, 2012

PUBLICATIONS

• Journal of Geophysical Research Article: "Aerosol properties derived from aircraft multiangle imaging over Monterey Bay" by Ralph Kahn, Pranab Banerjee, Duncan McDonald, and John Martonchik, June 16, 2001
• Journal of Geophysical Research Article: "Sensitivity of multiangle imaging to natural mixtures of aerosols over ocean" by Ralph Kahn, Pranab Banerjee, and Duncan McDonald, August 27, 2001
• MISR Peer-Reviewed Publications
• NASA Earth Observatory Article: Looking at the Moon to Better See Earth - Terra satellite performs a maneuver that allows all nine of MISR's cameras to capture images of the moon.
• NASA Earth Observatory Article: Squeezing Water from Rock - Survivors of the New Madrid earthquakes reported not only intense ground shaking and land movement, but also an unfamiliar phenomenon of water and sand spouting up through cracks in the Earth's surface.
• NASA Earth Observatory Article: Tracking Clouds - Tune in to the evening weather report on any given day, and you'll no doubt see satellite images of clouds.
• NASA Earthdata Content Delivery Network (CDN) Article: Aerosols over Australia - Researchers explore the links between atmospheric aerosols, climate change, and ultraviolet rays.
• NASA Earthdata Content Delivery Network (CDN) Article: Cloudy with a chance of Drizzle - By analyzing data from the MISR instrument, scientists discover that a unique type of cloud formation is much more prevalent than was previously believed.
• NASA Earthdata Content Delivery Network (CDN) Article: Following the World Trade Center plume - Remote sensing helps track the drift of harmful pollutants following the World Trade Center collapse.
• NASA Earthdata Content Delivery Network (CDN) Article: Smoke over Athens - The effects of forest fires show up in a multi-satellite view of pollution.
• NASA JPL Images: Tropical Storm Harvey over Texas - After making landfall as a Category 4 hurricane the day before, striking images are captured by MISR as the storm maintained a dangerous tropical storm status.
• NASA JPL Photojournal: New Images of Irma's Towering Clouds - MISR passes over Irma over the Dominican Republic as a Category 5 hurricane.

READ-ME

• AirMISR L1B2/L2AS Coregistration Tool Readme
• AirMISR Read Software Document Readme
• Readme Information about the AirMISR field mission which focused on the reflective properties of snow over the Yampa Valley of Colorado from February to March, 2001

USER'S GUIDE

• Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer Project Handbook
• Overview of MISR Data at the ASDC, 2023

Keywords

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