IceBridge Airborne Infrared Surface Temperature Measurements

Surface temperature measurements of Arctic and Antarctic sea ice and land ice were acquired by the Heitronics KT19.85 Series II Infrared Radiation Pyrometer. The National Suborbital Research Center and Wallops Flight Facility operated the instrument on NASA DC-8, P-3, and other aircraft as part of Operation IceBridge funded surveys. Data product creation concluded with a final update in May 2019.

Use Cases

• Validate satellite-derived land surface temperature (LST) products over polar ice using the KT19 pyrometer's in-situ-like measurements.
• Analyze spatial and temporal patterns of surface temperature across different ice types (sea ice vs. land ice) in the Arctic and Antarctic.
• Model ice melt onset and surface energy balance by incorporating time-series surface temperature data from airborne transects.
• Calibrate other infrared sensors or algorithms using the high-resolution surface temperature profiles collected during flight campaigns.

Strengths

• Data collected by a specific, calibrated instrument model (Heitronics KT19.85 Series II).
• Coverage includes both polar regions (Arctic and Antarctic).
• Measurements are part of the systematic, funded Operation IceBridge campaign.

Limitations

• Specific temporal coverage, row count, and spatial resolution are unknown from the provided metadata.
• Data collection ended with the Operation IceBridge campaigns, with no updates since May 2019.

Provenance

Source

National Suborbital Research Center (NSRC) and Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) for NASA.

Collection Method

Airborne measurements from NASA DC-8 and P-3 aircraft using the Heitronics KT19.85 Series II Infrared Radiation Pyrometer.

Time Range

null

Freshness

Final update was in May 2019; no ongoing updates indicated.

Geography

Arctic and Antarctic regions.