BT-67
Basler BT-67

The Airborne Expendable Conductivity Temperature Depth Probe (AXCTD) is an in situ expendable CTD sensor that is deployed from an aircraft. AXCTDs are released from the aircraft into the ocean, where they release a CTD probe to collect measurements of conductivity and temperature up to a depth of 1000 meters. These measurements are sent to the aircraft by radio operating in the 170-173 MHz frequency range. AXCTDs have a typical sampling rate of about 4 Hz and have a vertical resolution of less than 1 meter.

The Airborne eXpendable BathyThermograph (AXBT) is an in situ sensor that measures ocean temperature and conductivity. It is deployed from an aircraft using a small parachute and floats to the ocean surface after impact. The floating portion of the instrument then releases a probe into the ocean that collects profile measurements to a depth of about 1000 meters. AXBT has a vertical descent of about 1.5 meters per second.

Generic-Radiometers refer to non-specific radiometers on a platform. These are typically passive microwave radiometers that measure brightness temperature. Radiometers can be used to retrieve temperature and water vapor profiles, soil moisture content, ocean salinity, precipitation and cloud properties, and vegetation.

The Passive Active L- and S-band Sensor (PALS) is a combined airborne polarimetric radiometer and radar developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). It was designed to evaluate the benefits of combining remote passive and active sensors for ocean salinity and soil moisture measurements. Both the radiometer and radar within PALS operate across the L- (1.41 GHz, 1.26 GHz) and S-band (2.69 GHz, 3.15 GHz) frequencies to measure brightness temperature and radar backscatter of ocean salinity and soil moisture. PALS has a spatial resolution ranging from 600 to 1500 m depending on the altitude of the aircraft. PALS can be equipped on many different aircraft due to its design and is typically used for validation of Aquarius and SMAP satellite observations.

Magnetometers are passive instruments that measure the variations in Earth’s magnetic field. There are two types of magnetometers: a vector magnetometer, which measures the vector components of a magnetic field, and a total field magnetometer, which measures the magnitude. Magnetometers are used for geophysical surveys and ocean exploration. They can be used for airborne, ground-based, or water-based operations.

This description will be added in a future version.

Gravimeters are passive sensors that measure the strength of Earth’s gravitational field. These measurements are used for determining density variations in rocks, oil and mineral prospecting, the monitoring of glacier changes, and the study of volcanic activity. Gravimeters can be used for airborne and ground-based operations.

The Warm Ice Sounding Explorer (WISE) is an airborne radar developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the University of California Irvine (UCI). It is a low-frequency radar (2.5 MHz) used to penetrate temperate ice to measure glacier and ice sheet thickness. It was designed based on the satellite instrument Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding (MARSIS). WISE can operate at an altitude range of 250-1000 meters and has a sampling frequency of 20 MHz. It has a vertical resolution of 30 meters in the air and 17 meters in the ice.

This data will be added in future versions

This data will be added in future versions

Magnetometers are passive instruments that measure the variations in Earth’s magnetic field. There are two types of magnetometers: a vector magnetometer, which measures the vector components of a magnetic field, and a total field magnetometer, which measures the magnitude. Magnetometers are used for geophysical surveys and ocean exploration. They can be used for airborne, ground-based, or water-based operations.

This description will be added in future versions.

This description will be added in a future version.

This data will be added in future versions

Magnetometers are passive instruments that measure the variations in Earth’s magnetic field. There are two types of magnetometers: a vector magnetometer, which measures the vector components of a magnetic field, and a total field magnetometer, which measures the magnitude. Magnetometers are used for geophysical surveys and ocean exploration. They can be used for airborne, ground-based, or water-based operations.

This description will be added in a future version.

This description will be added in future versions.

Gravimeters are passive sensors that measure the strength of Earth’s gravitational field. These measurements are used for determining density variations in rocks, oil and mineral prospecting, the monitoring of glacier changes, and the study of volcanic activity. Gravimeters can be used for airborne and ground-based operations.

This data will be added in future versions

This data will be added in future versions

The Multichannel Coherent Radar Depth Sounder (MCoRDS) is an airborne radar developed by the Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets (CReSIS) at the University of Kansas. It is a multichannel radar sounder that is used to measure ice sheet thickness and map ice subsurface layers to depths exceeding 4km. It operates across the 150 to 450 MHz frequency range and has a sampling frequency of up to 1.6 GHz. MCoRDS has a vertical resolution ranging from about 60 cm to about 20 m, depending on the frequency range and flight altitude.

Lidar is a surveying method that measures distance to a target by illuminating the target with laser light and measuring the reflected light with a sensor. Differences in laser return times and wavelengths can then be used to make digital 3-D representations of the target.

The Multi-sample Aerosol Collection System (MACS) is an in situ airborne aerosol sampling system. It consists of a two-stage impact collector, which allows for the collection of aerosol particles on electron microscope grids for further analysis. MACS can collect particles as small as 0.02 μm for altitudes up to 60,000 feet. MACS can collect around 24 samples per flight.