Tests of the D2P radar over the ice sheets of southern Greenland were performed during the week of June 12. These flights were conducted from Goose Bay, Canada. The transit flights between Goose Bay and Greenland provided an opportunity to collect data over sea ice which still covers a portion of the Canadian side of Davis Strait and the east coast of Greenland. These flights were conducted on the same NRL P3 that was used for the test flights in late March and early April.
In addition to the D2P radar, these flights included a nadir-looking video camera and a strap-down inertial measurement unit that recorded aircraft attitude, speed, and heading as well as position.
The schedule for this test was as follows:
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The map for the three test flights is shown below. Clicking on the map will result in a larger image being displayed. Blue segments have a positive northerly component. Orange segments have a positive southerly component.
The first test flight (6/12/2000) began with a due north leg over the west of Greenland, a counterclockwise loop, a eastbound leg, another counterclockwise loop, and a southwesterly leg. The second test flight (6/14/2000) was roughly parallel to the long legs of the first flight. The direction of flight was reversed in order to take advantage of the prevailing winds and reduce the ground speed on the westbound leg. The westbound leg of this flight was south of the eastbound leg of the first flight. The third test flight (6/16/2000) crossed Greenland twice, first from east to west, then west to east. The goal of these flights was to provide data collected parallel to constant elevation contours, perpendicular to the contours, and at geometries in between. Furthermore, several crossings are available in which the variations in height along one path can be compared with the across-track angle measured on another. 17 crossings were obtained at large angles.