A WINter EXperiment (WINTEX) is being conducted from Madison, Wisconsin from March 15 to April 2 to define the measurement requirements for the next generation of the National Polar Orbiter Environmental Satellite System and to further global climate studies. NASA’s high altitude Environmental Research aircraft (the ER-2) flies 19 km above the earth to simulate satellite observations. The ER-2 carries highly advanced sensors of surface, cloud, and atmospheric temperature and moisture profile conditions using two different types of instruments—imagers and sounders.

Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS), University of Wisconsin-Madison