A new airborne facility for environmental, hydrological, atmospheric and oceanic research: high resolution measurement of soil moisture, temperature and salinity

这项提议旨在建立一种新的国家能力，用于对关键环境变量进行航空遥感。它将能够对近地表土壤水分、陆地表面盐度和温度以及海洋表面盐度和温度进行高分辨率测绘。它将为水文学、大气和海洋研究人员提供一个新的工具，提供对我们理解和管理环境至关重要的特征的前所未有的详细信息。较小的仪器尺寸和重量将使轻型飞机能够用作观测平台，为国家(和国际)研究界提供迄今为止无法获得的负担得起的工具。

This proposal seeks to establish a new national capability for airborne remote sensing of key environmental variables. It will enable high-resolution mapping of near-surface soil moisture, land surface salinity and temperature, and ocean surface salinity and temperature. It will be a new tool for hydrologic, atmospheric and oceanic researchers, providing unprecedented detail on characteristics critical to our understanding and management of the environment. The small instrument size and weight will enable use of a light aircraft as the observing platform, providing the national (and international) research community with an affordable tool, hitherto unavailable.