Meltpond2000 Sea Ice Campaign

Meltpond2000 was a sea ice validation program for AMSR-E funded by multiple agencies. The campaign consisted of a series of aircraft flights over melting arctic ice, using the Polarimetric Scanning Radiometer (PSR/A or PSR/C denoting analog or C band frequency, respectively), during June and July 2000. The PSR is the first airborne scanned polarimetric imaging radiometer for post-launch satellite calibration and validation of passive microwave sensors. The aircraft also carried the Scanning Low-Frequency Microwave Radiometer (SLFMR) and Infrared (IR) scanning radiometer. The objective of the campaign was to quantify the errors in proposed AMSR-E sea ice algorithms from the presence of melting ponds on the pack ice surface. Melt ponds are currently the largest source of error in determining arctic sea ice concentrations using satellite passive microwave sensors. A secondary objective of Meltpond2000 was to develop a microwave capability to discriminate between melt ponds and open sea water. Dr. Donald J. Cavalieri was the Chief Scientist for the campaign.

Figures 1 through 5 display the flight lines used during the campaign along with the location, altitude, and sensors flown for each date.

Meltpond2000 Data

Meltpond2000 Polarimetric Scanning Radiometer Sea Ice Brightness Temperatures

Figure 1. Baffin Bay Flight Lines Measurements were collected on 26 June 2000 at 19,000 ft using the following sensors: PSR-A, SLFMR, and IR. Image courtesy of Donald Cavalieri.	Figure 2. Baffin Bay Flight Lines Measurements were collected on 27 June 2000 at 4500 ft using the following sensors: PSR-A, SLFMR, and IR. Image courtesy of Donald Cavalieri.
Figure 3. Viscount Melville Sound Ice Camp Flight Lines Measurements were collected on 29 June 2000 at both 1000 ft and 5500 ft using the following sensors: PSR-A, SLFMR, and IR. Image courtesy of Donald Cavalieri.	Figure 4. Viscount Melville Sound Ice Camp Flight Lines Measurements were collected on 30 June 2000 at both 1000 ft and 15,000 ft using the following sensors: PSR-C, SLFMR, and IR. Image courtesy Donald Cavalieri.
Figure 5. Baffin Bay Flight Lines Measurements were collected on 5 July 2000 at 21,000 ft using the following sensors: PSR-C, SLFMR, and IR. Image courtesy Donald Cavalieri.