Mission: Hamilton Line - TAM Sector
Priority: Baseline
 
This flight’s purpose is to sample the surface topography at the southern apex of many ICESat-2 orbits. Specifically this flight samples the ground tracks on the Transantarctic Mountains sector of the Polar plateau. In this way, we can provide “ground truth” for every ICESat-2 orbit with just three flights. The vertical stability of the surface must also be quantified for this approach to succeed, and this flight provides a repeat measurement for this purpose. This flight provides 40 km of overlap with each adjacent Hamilton Line mission. Finally, we fly a short crossover line in the overlapped section with the Hamilton Line – Amery Sector mission. This mission also covers the ICESat-2 traverse route. flown in a counterclockwise direction. Renamed in 2016 in honor of Dr. Gordon Hamilton.
 
An unexpected change in forecast overnight led to an option that was not previously considered for today and which was ultimately possible to fly, thanks to quick work by the DC-8 crew. We flew a ramp pass at 1200 ft AGL. We observed a clouded over Antarctic Peninsula, with the peaks of Alexander Island occasionally peeking through. We then proceeded to the plateau and encountered excellent conditions, with clearing as forecast. This portion of the Hamilton Line, flown as per usual with rhumb line navigation, proceeded smoothly and uneventfully. We then did a loop at the end to cross-over the transect perpendicularly, and flew by South Pole station outside of the clean air zone. The return transit proceeded smoothly. All instruments reported 100% data collection, with no issues.
 
Attached images:
1. Map of today’s mission (John Sonntag / NASA)
2. Northwestern Alexander Island, west of the Antarctic Peninsula, during our transit to the South Pole (Joe MacGregor / NASA)
3. Amundsen-Scott Station, South Pole (Hara Madhav Talasila / CReSIS)
4. Preliminary ATM T6 elevation swath along all of today’s mission (Matt Linkswiler / NASA)