SARP Research Locations

University of California, Irvine - Pre-flight presentations, post-flight data analysis and interpretation.
NASA Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility, Palmdale, CA - Instrument and flight preparations, research flights.

Stipend

Successful applicants will be awarded a $2,500 stipend for 6 weeks of participation in SARP 2011. Full travel and living expenses will also be provided. In addition to the stipend, participants will receive a $2000 meals allowance.

Accommodations

Participants will be housed at Hotel UCI at the University of California, Irvine. Hotel UCI has 2 bedroom apartments with a common kitchen and bathroom facilities. Each participant will have his or her own bedroom. Laundry facilities are also available at Hotel UCI. Since the apartments are within a block of the lecture and analysis location, there will be no need for daily transportation. During the time in Palmdale everyone will stay in shared hotel rooms at the Hilton Garden Inn. Vans will transport participants to and from the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility.

Meals

The Hotel UCI apartments have full cooking facilities and a number of nearby cafeterias where meals can be purchased with your meal allowance on a per meal basis. In Palmdale, the Hilton Garden Inn is located within short walking distance of >10 restaurants, a mall, and other shopping. Van transportation will be provided from Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility to local restaurants for lunch during the time there.

Travel Arrangements

NSERC will purchase participants' round-trip airline tickets from your home airport (U.S. locations only) to John Wayne Airport in Irvine. You will be responsible for transportation to your local airport. NSERC will provide all transportation from and to John Wayne Airport. You will be responsible for any baggage fees.

Transportation

NSERC will provide vans for transportation of participants. Due to liability concerns only NSERC staff and the research mentors can drive the vans. The vans will be used to transport participants to and from John Wayne Airport, to local stores for shopping, to and from Palmdale, CA for the flight activities, to and from ground truth data collection locations, and to various social activities on evenings and weekends.

What to bring to SARP 2011

At UC Irvine you will be in the heart of Orange County in Southern California where the students wear shorts and sandals most of the time. During your time in Palmdale everyone must wear closed toed shoes while at the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility. There are also requirements to be eligible to fly on the NASA DC-8. Long pants and closed toed shoes are a hard requirement for flights. Since there is a chance of fire on all aircraft, NASA safety personnel suggest cotton clothing rather than synthetic fabrics since cotton is more fire resistant. You might also want a jacket or sweatshirt since the aircraft can get cool at altitude.

You will be presenting your research at the end of the program. All of the presentations will be videotaped and posted on the SARP 2011 website. If you want your friends and relatives to see you at your best, you may wish to bring some business-like clothes. There will be some ground truth measurements complementing the DC-8 overflights. Participants will spend one night near the remote location ground truth site. Please bring a backpack so you can pack your work clothes and essentials for a one-night stay.

Links

Program Description

Participants working in multi-disciplinary teams will be involved in detailed planning of an airborne science campaign, and assist in the operation of two airborne instruments on the DC-8 during two 6-hour science flights, all within California.

Research topics include:

• Remote sensing of oceanographic processes in Monterey Bay and the Santa Barbara Channel
• Evapotranspiration from crops in the San Joaquin Valley
• Air quality effects of dairy emissions in California's Central Valley

Preparatory information will be presented at the University of California Irvine, where post-flight data analysis and interpretation will also take place. Instrument and flight preparations, then the research flights themselves, will occur at NASA's Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility, Palmdale, CA.

Instruments

Two instrument investigators have committed to integrate their instruments onboard the DC-8 to facilitate airborne science research by the students. The first of these instruments is the MODIS/ASTER Airborne Simulator (MASTER), which is a multispectral remote sensing imager.

The second instrument is the Whole Air Sampler (WAS), which will be used to collect air samples outside the aircraft at various altitudes. Research mentors will guide the installation, operation and data reduction for both of these instruments.

Remote Sensing Using the MODIS/ASTER Simulator (MASTER)

The remote sensing course will cover agricultural and ocean processes. The ocean remote sensing group will study the distribution and abundance of the giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) in the region of Santa Barbara Channel, CA. The course provides an introduction to ocean optics and remote sensing of the environment using MASTER. Spectral measurements will be made of samples to provide validation for the airborne measurements.

The agricultural processes group will conduct research using multi-spectral imaging data from the MASTER instrument. Data will be collected in agricultural areas in the Central Valley for (1) crop classification in a major agricultural region, and (2) transpiration from crops as assessed using the thermal and visible bands, to be compared with evapotranspiration estimates provided daily from models.

Whole Air Sampler (WAS)

Students in the atmospheric chemistry group will take samples of ambient air at various locations and elevations near large dairy operations in California's Central Valley, and then analyze the samples for chemical content.

During a study sponsored by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) in Spring 2008, Dr. Don Blake's research group at the University of California, Irvine detected surprisingly strong emissions from these dairy operations. Large quantities of ethanol were detected. Ethanol reactions in the atmosphere can lead to chemically produced ozone.

This experiment will allow participants to learn airborne science techniques plus subsequent laboratory and data analysis. Participants will also collect air samples at a few ground locations to expand the data reach.

Flights

With the proposed science flights, students will have made measurements of land, sea, and air. Since the airborne measurements will be combined with surface and satellite measurements, participants will experience the full dimensions of sensor networks, important Earth system tools of the future.

Proposed Schedule - Student Airborne Research

June 3 - June 18, 2011
Participants will be responsible for reading online reference materials describing the three research projects of the Student Airborne Research Program. The background literature has been posted in the Project References section of the SARP 2011 website.

June 19, 2011
Participants will arrive at the University of California, Irvine and take part in an evening poster session and icebreaker reception. Before your arrival, you must prepare and electronically submit a 36" x 36" poster in PDF format that will be printed by NSERC staff. Please limit your file size to 5 MB or less. The deadline to submit your electronic poster file is June 14, 2011. Email your file to SARP2011@nserc.und.edu.

Posters should include your name, school affiliation, a description of your research interests, and any personal information and photos you would like to share with the group. NASA researchers, program faculty and NSERC staff will also be in attendance at the poster session.

June 20 - July 1, 2011
Participants will hear preparatory lectures given by program faculty and NASA staff on various aspects of Earth Science and airborne science in particular. You will also be involved in the necessary planning activities for an airborne research mission including instrument integration, flight planning, and payload testing.

The first week will be focused on classroom lectures and preparation at UC Irvine. At this time, participants will be grouped into three research teams based on SARP's project areas; land, air or ocean processes. Laptops containing software for data analysis will also be distributed for use during the six-week program. The laptops must be returned at the end of SARP.

The second week will be in Palmdale at the NASA Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility (DAOF) where participants will assist in the operation of instruments onboard the DC-8 during two 6-hour science flights. Lodging and transportation will be provided at both program sites.

July 5 - July 27, 2011
The final three weeks of the program will take place at UC Irvine, where participants will perform data analysis and interpretation, document results, and prepare presentations. Research mentors will guide participants during this final phase of the program. SARP 2011 will culminate with participants presenting their final results to the group. The presentations will be videotaped and posted on the SARP website for use by future participants and researchers.

July 28-29, 2011
Laptops distributed to all participants must be returned at this time. NSERC staff will gather participants' flight schedules and provide transportation to John Wayne Airport for your return flight home.

Please read this literature and explore these links to prepare for the Student Airborne Research Program.

SARP 2011 PARTICIPANTS AND BIO LINKS
(Listed in order of speaker schedule)

Questions

Specific questions about the 2011 Student Airborne Research Program can be emailed to: SARP2011@nserc.und.edu

Submit Applications

Use the same email address to submit your completed SARP 2011 application form, PDF files of your unofficial transcripts, and letters of recommendation. The subject of the email must read: SARP2011_Application_(your last name)

Recommendation letter(s) can also be emailed directly by your recommender to the address above.