Airborne FTIR Measurements over the Mt. Etna Volcano. First Results from the 2003 FASA Campaign

Abstract

From 16 to 26 July 2003 a wide field campaign was carried out around Mt. Etna (Sicily) by different research units. During the campaign a new airborne system named FASA (Fire Airborne Spectral Analyzer) was tested. FASA is a system devoted to high temperature events study. The payload on the airborne consists of the Advanced BIRD Airborne Simulator (ABAS), which is an imager, and a high resolution Michelson Interferometer with ROtating Retroreflector (MIROR) operating in the nominal infrared 600-3000 cm-1 range. The spectra calibration has been carried out by computing the instrumental response function and the instrumental offset by using two black body sources at different temperature. In this paper we describe the MIROR in flight calibration and some preliminary results from its data-set. In particular the surface temperature, the hyperspectral emissivity and gas detection from radiance spectra collected on Mount Etna are shown. The atmospheric corrections terms, needed for the retrieval procedures, have been computed using MODTRAN radiative transfer code considering the atmospheric profiles measured in situ during the field campaign. The results are compared with ASTER satellite and experimental data.