Friday, June 21, 2013
Methane Remote Sensing investigators from JPL and LANL are making final preparations for the 2013 field campaign at RMOTC. The objectives of this experiment are:
- What is the performance of existing NASA passive airborne remote sensing instruments HyTES, CARVE, and AVIRIS-ng, with respect to detection of ground-sourced methane?
- How well do high-resolution (≤10 m) numerical dispersion models predict methane concentration profiles as a function of meteorological conditions, surface topography/roughness, and gas flux?
- How well do small unmanned air vehicle (sUAV) in situ methane sensors map methane plumes resulting from point source releases?
The CARVE C-23, the CHASE Procerus Quadrotor, and the DHC-6 Twin Otters have arrived at Casper, WY. AVIRIS-ng and HyTES have been installed on separate DHC-6 Twin Otters. The three remote methane ground release sites and coincident in situ sensor towers have been installed and checked out. All four Flight Readiness Reviews and campaign Mission Readiness Reviews have been completed successfully with no outstanding liens. The integrated field campaign began June 20 and will continue through June 26.