Abstract
Experimental field campaigns, including satellite under-flights with well-calibrated FTS sensors aboard high-altitude
aircraft, are an essential part of the satellite measurement system validation task aimed at improving observations of the
Earth’s atmosphere, clouds, and surface for enabling enhancements in weather prediction, climate monitoring capability,
and environmental change detection. The Suomi NPP (SNPP) airborne field campaign was conducted during the 6 - 31
May, 2013 timeframe based out of Palmdale, CA, and focused on under-flights of the SNPP satellite with the NASA
ER-2 aircraft in order to perform cal/val of the satellite instruments and their corresponding data products. Aircraft
flight profiles were designed to under-fly multiple satellites within a single sortie, when feasible, to address satellite
sensor validation and cross-validation; specifically, in addition to under-flying SNPP, flight profiles were defined to also
obtain data coincident with the NASA A-train (i.e. AQUA), MetOP-A, and MetOP-B satellites to enable intercomparisons
with instruments aboard those platforms (i.e. AIRS, IASI, and CrIS). This presentation focuses on radiance
analysis from the SNPP airborne field campaign with a particular emphasis on NAST-I intercomparisons with the Crosstrack
Infrared Sounder (CrIS).
