GISMO Flights Plans and Objectives

Technical Objectives for April ’07 Experiment 1) Acquire data over the May 2006 flight line to compare high and low altitude observations and to compare interferometry acquired with different baselines. Are results consistent with theory? 2) Acquire data at 150 MHz and 450 MHz along every flight line and compare backscatter and interferometric frequency response? Are the results consistent with theory? 3) Acquire data over areas where we expect to find subglacial water. Is water detectable either from backscatter maps or from topography? 4) Acquire data over regions of increasing surface roughness. This may require observations over heavily crevassed shear margins such as those found around Jacobshavn Glacier. Can we successfully implement interferogram phase filtering? 5) Acquire data for tomographic analysis 6) Investigate repeat pass interferometry over repeat periods of days. 7) Verify volume clutter is weak (all snow zones) 8) Collect data over thick and thin ice to test for absorption effects

April 07 Experiment P-3 flights from Thule and Kangerdlussuaq 150 MHz and 450 MHz Radars Maximum altitude allowable 6, 6 hour flights available with existing budget

Constraints on Flight Operations Fly at maximum allowable altitude Limit flight duration to allow for daily data Q/A and experiment modifications (about 6 hours assuming 150 Gb/hour and 3, 300 Gb disks) Allow enough field time to repeat flight lines Fly over high and low clutter areas Fly over areas where some information on basal properties is known VHF and UHF radars cannot operate simultaneously – repeat P-band and VHF along same track to within 30 m Schedule 2 to 4 repeat flights at 30 m horizontal offsets for tomography

Aircraft Navigation Expected Performance 20 m ground track repeatability 0.02 degree post flight knowledge on aircraft roll and pitch 1 degree post flight knowledge on yaw