The UAVSAR-Ka topographic InSAR (a.k.a. GLISTIN-A) aboard the AFRC C-20 jet successfully completed the week-long Mauna Loa volcano rapid response deployment (PI: Paul Lundgren).  We conducted 3 flights over the active lava flow as well as mapped the topography of both Mauna Loa and Kilauea volcanos.  The SAR-Fusion Optical/SWIR cameras (PI: Andrea Donnellan) were also onboard to take coincident imagery for generating high resolution Digital Elevation Model (DEM) for comparison with the GLISTIN-A DEM.

The L-band radar aboard the AFRC C-20 jet (NASA802) embarked on the 2022 Arctic-Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE) campaign in Canada and Alaska on Friday, 12 August.  ABoVE is a large-scale study of environmental change and its implications for social-ecological systems and include multiple airborne and field teams during the campaign.  First stop for UAVSAR was Saskatoon, Canada, where we conducted a TomoSAR experiment over the Boreal Ecosystem Research and Monitoring Sites (BERMS) in northern Saskatchewan Province.

The L-band radar began its Santa Barbara Oil Seep experiment aboard the AFRC jet (NASA802) on June 24, 2022, for observing natural seeps near Santa Barbara shoreline in coordination with the in-situ teams as well as satellite imagery from Radarsat-2, TerraSAR-X, and Worldview.  On June 24, surface team reported lots of different oil slick configurations with variant wind conditions, which were captured by UAVSAR successfully.

The L-band radar aboard the AFRC C-20 jet successfully completed the Santa Barbara Oil Slick experiment (PI: Frank Monaldo) last week.  In coordination with NOAA, JPL, and the US Coast Guard, the experimenters are studying the use of L-band polarimetric SAR data to determine oil thickness, and practicing the workflow for disaster response.   We imaged the natural oil seepage in the Santa Barbara Channel 3 days in a row in coordination with a US Coast Guard ship collecting in-situ data and the L-band radar saw many oil slicks over the ocean surface, as shown in the image below.  

The L-band radar aboard the Armstrong C-20A jet successfully completed the Delta-X fall campaign on 7 September.  In all we conducted 7 flights, imaging Atchafalaya Basin, East and West Terrebonne Basin in high tide and receding tide.  We were co-flying with AirSWOT aboard the Dynamic Aviation B-200 based at Port Arthur, TX.  Data have already been returned to JPL and processing is well underway.

The L-band radar aboard the AFRC C-20A successfully completed all 7 local California flights for monitoring Central San Andreas Fault, Hayward Fault, and the Eel River landslide study.  The Eel River landslide is a joint study with the P-band radar to determine the relative sensitivity of landslide detection between the two frequencies in vegetated area.  Despite the pandemic, we have flown 290 flight hours in FY21 and is slated to fly about 500 hours by the end of FY21.

The L-band radar aboard the JSC G-III successfully completed the Santa Barbara Oil Slick experiment on 14 May in support of a NASA ROSES grant from NASA’s Earth Science Disasters program, managed by David Green, to develop an algorithm to measure oil slick thickness using SAR to become Operational at the NOAA Marine Pollution Response group.  The purpose of this campaign is to validate oil slick characterization algorithms and to prepare for NISAR disaster response to oil spills and major storms.  The study site is a natural seep field off the coast of Santa Barbara, CA.

The L-band radar aboard the JSC G-III has successfully completed the spring 2021 Delta-X campaign.  In all we conducted 9 flights over 3 different regions of Atchafalaya Bay in Louisiana between 27 March and 18 April totaling 51.2 hours.  These nine flights were flown over a range of tidal conditions to capture the wetlands at different water level heights.  The Delta-X science team will be using UAVSAR phase difference imagery from adjacent flight lines to determine water level change in wetlands.

The L-band radar aboard the JSC G-III has successfully completed the last of the weekly SnowEx observations today (March 22).  In all we conducted 10 weekly observations, missing only one week in mid-February when extreme freezing temperatures in Texas causing widespread power outage throughout the state, where UAVSAR is currently based.  The UAVSAR processing team back at JPL has been generating polarimetric interferograms of data acquired on adjacent weeks.  Attached is an example interferogram over Lowman, Idaho of data acquired on February 3 and 10 respectively.

The L-band radar aboard the JSC G-III has been conducting weekly SnowEx observations since January 15.  Each weekly observation consists of a 9-hour flight with a fuel stop in Idaho in order to visit 6 sites in Utah, Colorado, Idaho, and Montana respectively.  So far we have successfully executed 7 flights, missing only one week in mid-February when extreme freezing temperatures in Texas causing widespread power outage throughout the state, where UAVSAR is currently based.  We expect to conduct 2-3 more flights before we wrap up the SnowEx campaign.