AIRCRAFT CATALOG BPA DELIVERY ORDER FOR AVIRIS DEEP WATER HORIZON GOLF OF MEXICO OIL SPILL MISSION. THE CON…

Public award description

AIRCRAFT CATALOG BPA DELIVERY ORDER FOR AVIRIS DEEP WATER HORIZON GOLF OF MEXICO OIL SPILL MISSION. THE CONTRACTOR WILL PROVIDE IUM LIFT AIRCRAFT TO FLY A REMOTE SENSING MISSION CARRYING THE AIRBORNE VISIBLE AND INFRARED IMAGING SPECTROMETER (AVIRIS). THE AVIRIS IS A NASA SCIENCE INSTRUMENT THAT MEASURES THE REFLECTED SUN LIGHT PORTION OF THE SOLAR SPECTRUM WITH UNMATCHED SPECTRAL RANGE, CALIBRATION ACCURACY AND SIGNAL-TO-NOISE RATIO. AVIRIS SPECTRA ARE MEASURED FROM 370 NANOMETERS (NM) TO 2500 NM AT 9.8 NM INTERVALS. UP TO 25 MILLION SPECTRA ARE MEASURED IN IMAGE FORMAT ON EACH FLIGHT FOR SUPPORTING SCIENCE INVESTIGATIONS. AS PART OF NASA S RESPONSE TO THE DEEPWATER HORIZON GULF OF MEXICO (GOM) OIL SPILL, THE AVIRIS INSTRUMENT WILL USE IMAGING SPECTROSCOPY TO MAP THE OCCURRENCE AND CONDITION OF OIL ON THE SURFACE OF THE GULF, AND TO ESTIMATE THE AMOUNT OF OIL ON THE SURFACE TO HELP SCIENTISTS AND RESPONDING AGENCIES BETTER UNDERSTAND THE SPILL AND HOW TO ADDRESS ITS EFFECTS. IN ADDITION, COASTLINE MAPS CREATED FROM THE AVIRIS OVERFLIGHTS WILL BE USED TO PROVIDE A BASELINE OF ECOSYSTEMS AND HABITATS THAT CAN BE COMPARED WITH DATA FROM FUTURE AVIRIS FLIGHTS TO ASSESS THE OIL SPILL'S IMPACTS.