8. EXPERIMENT OPERATIONS
8.1.
EXPERIMENT MANAGEMENT AND COORDINATION
8.1.1.
Satellite Remote Sensing Component
8.1.2.
Airborne Remote Sensing Component
8.1.3.
Ground-Based Remote Sensing Component
8.1.4.
Ground Data Collection Component
8.1.5.
NWP Analyses Data Collection Component
8.1.6.
Data Management and Archive Component
8.2.
PARTICIPATION
8.3. OPERATIONS
BASE
8.4. FIELD TEAMS
8.5.
TRANSPORTATION
8.6. NAVIGATION
8.7.
COMMUNICATIONS
8.8. BRIEFINGS
8.9.
FIELD MANAGEMENT OF DATA
8. EXPERIMENT OPERATIONS
8.1. EXPERIMENT MANAGEMENT AND COORDINATION
The CLPX will be managed through the NASA Land Surface Hydrology Program (LSHP). The LSHP Program Manager (M. Jasinski (acting), NASA HQ) will be ultimately responsible for decisions regarding the overall experiment budget and the contingency budget, and for ensuring that science objectives of the NASA Earth Science Enterprise are adequately addressed by the experiment. A CLPX Project Manager (D. Cline, NOHRSC) will be responsible for 1) the overall planning and operations of the experiment, 2) budget management, 3) the satellite, airborne, and ground data collection components of the experiment, 4) management and archive of the data sets collected in the experiment. The LSHP Program Manager and the CLPX Project Manager will coordinate closely before, during, and after the experiment.
All experiment operations will be coordinated through six individuals responsible for major components of the experiment ( Figure 59 ):
The major elements of these components are described below.
All persons listed are focal points for these elements. It should be clearly
understood that all participants in the experiment are expected to assist
in these tasks to the fullest extent possible.
8.1.1. Satellite Remote Sensing Component
Responsibility for providing the various satellite remote
sensing data sets described Section 4.1. will be shared by R. Davis (CRREL),
K. McDonald (NSA JPL), J. Shi (UCSB), S. Li (Alaska SAR Facility), and
J. Foster (NASA GSFC). R. Davis will coordinate this effort.
8.1.2. Airborne Remote Sensing Component
Coordination of this component will involve project managers for each instrument, aircraft flight crews, and CLPX on-flight representatives. NASA Mission Managers have be assigned for DC-8 and P3-B aircraft by the Suborbital Science Program (NASA Code YS). The NASA DC-8 Mission Manager is Walter Klein from NASA Dryden. The DC-8/AIRSAR flight planner is Delwyn Moller from JPL. The P3-B Mission Manager is Dave Easmunt from NASA Wallops. Two individuals associated with the experiment (J.C. Shi and Koni Steffen) will serve as on-flight CLPX representatives aboard the DC-8. A third CLPX representative will be identified for the P3-B flights in 2003. The NOHRSC will be responsible for GAMMA flight operations. D. Cline will coordinate these activities.
Prior to the experiment, planning and coordination will
continue as aircraft schedules evolve. During the experiment, all flight
operations will be coordinated on a day-to-day basis. Following the experiment,
coordination efforts will turn to ensuring that data processing is completed.
8.1.3. Ground-Based Remote Sensing Component
Each element of this component will be managed by the
three groups providing and operating the remote sensing instrumentation.
T. England and K. Sarabandi from the University of Michigan will be responsible
for the UM passive and active systems, respectively. T. Koike will be responsible
for the NASDA system. G. Koh will be responsible for the CRREL FMCW system.
E. Kim will be responsible for the GSFC Lrad system. R. Davis (CRREL) will
coordinate these efforts and ensure that they effectively address the objectives
of the experiment.
8.1.4. Ground Data Collection Component
Responsibilities for this component include a) organizing and managing ground data collection teams, b) establishing measurement protocols and ensuring they are followed, c) establishing sample locations, d) securing property access permissions where necessary, e) ensuring that data collection proceeds successfully, and f) ensuring that data sets are in order and turned over to the data management and archive coordinator. K. Elder (USFS) will coordinate the ground data collection component.
Twelve team leaders will be responsible for the activities of their team, including data collection and reporting, field navigation, communication, and transportation, and field safety. Team leaders will be required to attend a winter safety training course (see Section 7.4.). All team members will carry 2-way radios. Team leaders will be responsible for maintaining communication with their team members, and for maintaining regularly scheduled radio communication with the other team leaders via 2-way radio and with the ground data collection coordinator via satellite telephone. Team leaders will be responsible for following established measurement protocols and data recording procedures. At the end of each field day, all team leaders will be responsible for providing their data reports to the ground data collection coordinator. The ground data collection coordinator will conduct a debriefing each afternoon with all of the data collection teams to review the day's activities, identify problems, and collect data reports from the team leaders.
K. Elder (USFS) will be responsible for establishing and snow measurement protocols and providing necessary training to team members. T. Zhang (NSIDC) will do the same for soil moisture measurement.
J. Kimball (U. Montana) will be responsible for vegetation measurements at the Local-Scale Observation Site. This will include instrument deployment and operation, and provision of data sets to the data management coordinator.
P. Houser (GSFC) will be responsible for data collection
from the 11 micrometeorological instrument sites at the ISAs and the LSOS.
This will include the cross-calibration of instruments at the LSOS site
(See Section 4.5.6.), the installation and operation of instrument stations
at each site, and the provision of data sets to the data management coordinator.
8.1.5. NWP Analyses Data Collection Component
G. Liston (CSU) will be responsible for collecting and
archiving NWP analyses for the spatial and temporal domains of the experiment.
8.1.6. Data Management and Archive Component
Mark Parsons (NSIDC) will coordinate the management and
archive of data collected during the experiment. He will serve as a liaison
between the experiment and the data management facilities at NSIDC. NSIDC
personnel will be responsible for the organization, long-term management,
and distribution of data sets.
The experiment is designed to provide a comprehensive, legacy data set that will support many interdisciplinary science objectives related to the measurement and understanding of water, energy, and carbon cycles in cold regions. Participation in the experiment is openly encouraged. There are many different ways to participate in the experiment. Many persons are needed to assist with field data collection and other aspects of the core data collection effort. Other contributions, such as additional measurements or data sets that will generally add value to the core measurements described here, are also welcome.
Significant efforts have been made to secure access to property and facilities, to maximize field safety during the experiment, and to provide risk reduction measures for the experiment. Coordination and organization is critical to the success of the experiment. To maintain organization during the experiment, all participants will be required to coordinate their activities with the LSHP Program Manager or the CLPX Project Manager. Coordination will include providing information about the participant and their interest in the experiment. Where appropriate, participants will be assigned to field teams or to specific coordinators to facilitate experiment operations and to make sure that additional activities do not conflict with existing plans. All participants will be required to adhere to established safety protocols during the experiment, including the use of communication and navigation equipment. All participants will also be required to follow the open data distribution practices planned for this experiment.
A CLPX web site will be established prior to the experiment
and maintained on the NASA LSHP home page. This site will include an official
listing of all CLPX participants and their planned activities. Persons
interested in participating whose names do not appear on the list should
contact the CLPX Project Manager. This list will be used for distribution
of critical information regarding experiment operations. Experiment coordination
meetings will be scheduled and announced on this web site.
The field base of operations for CLPX will be the Fraser Experimental Forest Headquarters (FEFHQ) facility in the Fraser MSA. The on-site facilities at FEFHQ are suitable for supporting a wide range of the coordination activities necessary in the experiment. These include lodging, kitchen, office, meeting room, computing, power, and mechanical facilities. The nearby towns of Fraser and Winter Park provide additional facilities and services, including food, fuel, outdoor equipment repair, and lodging.
During data collection in North Park and Rabbit Ears MSAs, the operations base will be temporarily relocated to the towns of Walden and Steamboat Springs, respectively. Facilities at Walden are limited. Sufficient lodging for the expected number of field personnel is available in Walden, and meeting space for afternoon debriefings is available. Other basic services such as food and fuel are readily available, but the availability of facilities such as equipment repair and Internet access is limited. Facilities at Steamboat Springs are more than adequate to serve as a temporary base of operations.
Personnel involved with the experiment will also be located
during the experiment in Boulder, CO (NSIDC), Grand Junction, CO (NOAA
aircraft base), and at Colorado Springs, CO (NASA aircraft base).
Each of the 12 field teams for ISA data collection will begin with a qualified team leader. Qualified team leaders will possess significant winter backcountry field experience, familiarity with scientific data collection, and completion of winter safety training. The other member of each field team will need to possess strong winter backcountry travel skills, including skiing and snow-shoeing, as well as enthusiasm, and an ability to follow instructions. Familiarity with scientific data collection will be desirable, but not required.
Additional teams will be assembled to address tasks such
as micro-meteorological station maintenance and data collection, ground-based
remote sensing support, and ground measurements of snow and soil at the
Local-Scale Observation Site and North Park MSA. Some of these teams will
be largely self-defined (e.g. ground-based remote sensing teams), while
others will be assembled from available field personnel. Coordination efforts
will be made to ensure that each team has sufficient assistance for the
tasks required, and that each team has at least one member with significant
winter field experience. One team member from each of these teams will
be required to attend the winter safety training.
There are three major modes of transportation required for the experiment. The first is transportation to and from the MSAs, using 4WD vehicles. The second is travel to and from the individual ISAs, using 4WD vehicles and snow machines, as required. The third is transportation within each ISA, using skiis or snowshoes.
Six 8-passenger 4WD vehicles will be used during each IOP for transportation of field personnel to the MSAs and from ISA to ISA, and for MSA data collection in North Park. Two three-person teams working in the same ISA will share a vehicle, with adequate space for bulky winter gear. One or two additional vehicles will be available for use as required.
Colorado's transportation network is generally very good during winter. The primary routes between Fraser, North Park, and Rabbit Ears MSAs are well-maintained throughout the winter. However, primary roads can be hazardous during and following winter storms, and may be icy or snow packed even during good weather conditions. Mountain passes in the area (e.g. Rabbit Ears Pass, and Berthoud Pass near Fraser) are occasionally closed due to severe weather. Lesser roads providing direct access to ISAs are also maintained, but generally are lower priorities for maintenance following storms. In most cases, ISAs are close enough to primary routes that this will not be a significant factor.
Five sites will require snow machine support (snowmobiles and tracked vehicles) to reduce the amount of time lost to travel to and from the site. Access to two sites in Rabbit Ears MSA (Buffalo Pass ISA and Spring Creek ISA) will require snow machines for efficient access. All sites at Fraser, with the exception of St. Louis Creek ISA, will also require snow machines. Two small over-snow vehicles ("snow cats") will be available from the Fraser Experimental Forest facility to provide access for about 12 personnel to Fraser sites. Snowmobiles will be used for the remaining personnel. For the two Rabbit Ears sites, a commercial Snow Cat touring company has agreed to provide transportation at a cost comparable to snowmobile rental. This service will be far more efficient logistically than the use of snowmobiles.
The Local-Scale Observation Site near FEFHQ is readily
accessible. Crews dedicated to this site will not require special vehicle
support. Remote sensing instrument trucks will be able to access the LSOS
during winter.
Navigation requirements for this experiment primarily
involve locating pre-defined sample points, and personnel safety. All sample
locations at each ISA are pre-determined and will be marked in the field
in the fall prior to the experiment, in order to expedite data collection
during the winter. To mitigate the risks to data collection efforts due
to lost markers (either because they cannot be seen, or because they have
actually been lost), all ISA field teams will carry handheld GPS receivers
and a compass. Each team will carry two receivers (one for the pair measuring
transects, and one for the individual measuring snow/soil interface temperatures;
see Section 4.5.2.). Each team will be equipped with maps and field books
for their area, indicating the coordinates, distance, and direction the
next sample location. Using this information and the GPS in conjunction
with pre-placed location markers will expedite the process of transiting
from location to location. This is an important issue for successful ISA
data collection. Use of GPS will also be an important safety measure in
the event that teams become disoriented, e.g. in dense forests or during
poor weather conditions.
A strong field communications capability is an essential ingredient of the experimental design and risk reduction strategy. All team members will operate two-way radios during all field activities. Team leaders will be responsible for maintaining 2-way radio communication with their team members as they conduct field work. One team leader in each ISA will be designated as the ISA Leader. The ground data collection coordinator will regularly contact the ISA Leader to check on progress. Cellular phone coverage is unreliable or unavailable throughout much of the study areas. The CLPX Coordinator, Ground Operations Coordinator, and each ISA Leader will carry a satellite telephone for failsafe communications during the experiment. Thus, the field communications network will consist of the CLPX Coordinator and Ground Operations Coordinator maintaining regular communications with the three ISA Leaders via satellite telephone, who can then communicate with all other ISA personnel via 2-way radio. Maintaining this level of awareness of the progress of field teams is a critical part of ensuring that resources are being used effectively, will allow rapid reallocation of resources if necessary to complete the work in the time allotted, and most importantly will provide the highest level of safety possible.
Each of the coordinators, as well as the CLPX representatives
that will fly aboard the NASA aircraft, will carry cell phones in addition
to two-way radios. These will greatly facilitate coordination between aircraft
and ground teams. The on-flight representatives will contact the airborne
data collection coordinator at prescribed times to discuss the status of
aircraft and ground data collection. Cell phones cannot be used in flight.
Therefore, the airborne data collection coordinator will carry a handheld
2-way radio with general aviation frequencies to maintain communication
during flight operations.
Each IOP will begin with a 1-day protocol training session to ensure that all personnel are familiar with the measurement protocols. All protocols will be reviewed, including data collection, communication, and navigation. Teams for the IOP will be finalized during this meeting.
Each field day will begin and end with a briefing. The morning briefing will address operations issues for that day, including data collection objectives, weather, aircraft deployment, and ground transportation. Aircraft teams will be contacted to discuss aircraft deployment and inform them of ground data collection plans. Team leaders will be given their field books for that day's data collection, along with any special instructions before departing to the study areas.
There will be two briefings each afternoon following data collection. The first will be conducted by the ground data collection coordinator immediately upon return to the operations base, and will include all personnel. The coordinator will collect the day's field books from all the team leaders. The briefing will address issues of the day's data collection, including completion status, conditions encountered, and status of equipment, instruments, and vehicles.
The coordinators and team leaders will then meet to conduct
a detailed review of the data collected that day and discuss plans for
the following day. Field books will be inspected to ensure that data records
are complete and unambiguous. The aircraft teams will be contacted to discuss
the status of the day's airborne data collection.
The intensive sampling of the ISAs and the LSOS will be facilitated by using previously prepared field books for the samples to be collected by each team in a given day. Field books will contain forms for transect data collection and snow pit data collection, as appropriate. The field books will be team-specific, i.e. the forms will be prepared for specific quadrants of specific ISAs, and will contain entries for the specific locations for data collection.
Team leaders will be responsible for maintaining field books during data collection. At the end of each day, field books will be reviewed in the afternoon briefing, as described above. Following this review, the books will be photocopied and electronically scanned. Three data management personnel (one for each ISA) will then enter the day's field data on laptop computers using prescribed forms in spreadsheet software. Preliminary quality control, such as range and limit checks will be performed at this time. When completed in the evening, the data files will be imported into GIS software where they will undergo full quality control using spatial analysis methods (e.g. interpolation of maps to search for suspect data values). Digital photos will be downloaded each evening as well, and organized to identify and keep track of each photo. In this way, all field data will be entered into electronic format and fully quality controlled the same day as they are collected, while field personnel are still available to answer questions and resolve problems with data records. At the end of the IOP, the field books will be turned over to the data management and archive coordinator, who will be responsible for taking the books to NSIDC permanent archive. The ground data collection coordinator and the CLPX project manager will each retain photocopies of the field books.
Most original electronic data sets will not require out-of-the-ordinary treatment during the field experiment. Instrument data from met stations will be routinely stored on solid-state storage modules. These modules will be queried during the IOPs to ensure that everything is in order. Steps will be taken to ensure that ground-based remote sensing data are backed-up reliably during the experiment.
Soil samples for gravimetric analyses will be organized
each day by data management personnel. Weighing and drying of soil samples
will begin during the IOP, and will continue until all samples are completed.
These data will be provided in digital format to NSIDC as soon as the samples
are completed.