DEVOTE UC-12 Aircraft Research Scanning Polarimeter (RSP) Remotely Sensed Data

DEVOTE_AircraftRemoteSensing_UC12_RSP_Data are remotely sensed data collected via the Research Scanning Polarimeter (RSP) onboard the UC-12 aircraft as part of the Development and Evaluation of satellite Validation Tools by Experimenters (DEVOTE) sub-orbital project. Data collection is complete.

The Development and Evaluation of satellite Validation Tools by Experimenters (DEVOTE) project investigated aerosols and clouds with the specific goals of satellite validation and the improvement of satellite data retrieval algorithms. Conducted in September and October 2011, DEVOTE scientists collected measurements of aerosols and cloud optical and microphysical properties using airborne sensors over ground sites and along satellite overpasses to demonstrate the use of airborne platforms in future scientific measurement campaigns. These measurements were used to validate and improve satellite data retrieval algorithms from missions including the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) mission and the Aerosol, Cloud, Ecosystems (ACE) Decadal Survey mission.

DEVOTE scientists conducted eleven science flights based at the NASA Langley Research Center throughout the campaign. The flight plans were specifically designed to coordinate with CALIPSO satellite overpasses and to fly over the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) ground network sites. The DEVOTE sampling strategy required two aircraft dedicated to remote sensing and in-situ observations, which flew in coordinated flight patterns. This was implemented through use of the NASA UC-12 and the NASA B-200 airborne platforms. The UC-12 had the following remote sensing payload: the Research Scanning Polarimeter (RSP) and High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) instruments. The B-200 had an in-situ payload including the Polarized Imaging Nephelometer (PI-Neph), the Diode Laser Hygrometer (DLH), and Langley Aerosol Research Group Experiment (LARGE) instruments for aerosol microphysical and optical properties.

DEVOTE was partly funded through the Hands-On Project Experience (HOPE) initiative. HOPE was a NASA development program designed to offer early career scientist opportunities to design, implement, and analyze small missions offering hands-on experience. Opportunities are increasingly limited for principal investigators, program managers, and system engineers to obtain mission life cycle training, and HOPE provides opportunities to those early on in their career or who are transitioning to a different field. Thus, DEVOTE had a focus on providing hands-on training in the mission life cycle to early career scientists in addition to its primary objective of using cloud and aerosol data collected from airborne sensors to validate and improve satellite data retrieval algorithms. Additionally, the information obtained from DEVOTE research was used to prepare for the implementation of ACE.

DEVOTE机载遥感UC12_RSP数据集是作为‘实验人员卫星验证工具开发与评估（Development and Evaluation of satellite Validation Tools by Experimenters，DEVOTE）’亚轨道项目的一部分，通过搭载于UC-12型飞机的研究扫描偏振计（Research Scanning Polarimeter，RSP）获取的遥感数据。该数据集的数据采集工作已全部完成。

‘实验人员卫星验证工具开发与评估（DEVOTE）’项目以气溶胶与云为研究对象，核心目标为开展卫星验证以及改进卫星数据反演算法。该项目于2011年9月至10月开展，DEVOTE团队的科研人员借助机载传感器，在地面站点上空以及卫星过境时段开展观测，获取气溶胶与云的光学、微物理特性数据，以此验证机载平台在未来科学观测任务中的应用价值。上述观测数据被用于验证并改进多项卫星任务的数据反演算法，包括云-气溶胶激光雷达与红外探路者卫星观测（Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation，CALIPSO）任务以及气溶胶、云与生态系统（Aerosol, Cloud, Ecosystems，ACE）十年勘测任务。

在整个任务周期中，DEVOTE团队的科研人员以美国国家航空航天局（National Aeronautics and Space Administration）兰利研究中心为基地，开展了11次科学飞行任务。本次任务的飞行航线均经过专门规划，可与CALIPSO卫星过境时段相配合，同时飞越气溶胶机器人观测网络（Aerosol Robotic Network，AERONET）的地面站点。DEVOTE的采样策略需要两架专门用于遥感与原位观测的飞机以协同飞行模式开展作业，本次任务采用NASA的UC-12与B-200两款机载平台完成上述作业。其中UC-12搭载的遥感载荷包括研究扫描偏振计（RSP）与高光谱分辨率激光雷达（High Spectral Resolution Lidar，HSRL）；B-200搭载的原位观测载荷则包括偏振成像浊度计（Polarized Imaging Nephelometer，PI-Neph）、二极管激光湿度计（Diode Laser Hygrometer，DLH），以及用于获取气溶胶微物理与光学特性的兰利气溶胶研究组实验（Langley Aerosol Research Group Experiment，LARGE）仪器。

DEVOTE项目的部分资金来源于‘动手项目体验（Hands-On Project Experience，HOPE）’计划。HOPE是NASA推出的一项发展计划，旨在为早期职业科研人员提供设计、实施与分析小型任务的机会，使其获得实操经验。当前，首席研究员、项目经理与系统工程师获取任务全生命周期培训的机会日益稀缺，而HOPE计划则为处于职业早期或正转型至其他领域的相关人员提供了此类机会。因此，DEVOTE项目除了以机载传感器获取的云与气溶胶数据验证并改进卫星数据反演算法这一核心目标外，还将为早期职业科研人员提供任务全生命周期的实操培训作为重点工作之一。此外，DEVOTE项目的研究成果还为ACE任务的实施筹备提供了支撑。