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By Tara de Ryk HANLEY—A Twin Otter airplane landing and taking off from the Hanley airstrip was a rare sight for the town's residents. The seldom-used runway was put to use this month by Environment Canada for a soil moisture experiment. Researchers from Canada and the U.S. were flying the skies and walking the land, collecting data from an area around Kenaston and Hanley. Two aircraft were remotely sensing soil moisture by flying over the area. Meanwhile, 16 ground teams sampled soil moisture in about 60 fields with 14 points in each field. Results from the Canadian Experiment in Soil Moisture will be used for understanding drought, weather, climate and soils in Canada and around the world through satellite measurements. The Twin Otter plane, belonging to the National Research Council, that was spotted using the Hanley airstrip to refuel and to give its pilots and passengers bathroom breaks, was equipped with a radiometer that detects the radiation from the earth's surface. The Otter flew at about 8,000 feet. Further up, a Gulfstream G3 from NASA was flying at 30,000 feet also taking measurements with its airborne systems. The flight of both planes was co-ordinated with the overhead passage of a satellite, recently launched by the European Space Agency. Numerous measurements were taken from the two airborne systems and various satellite systems. The object of the experiment is to improve the understanding of how water moves across the ground, through the soil and back into the atmosphere through evaporation and through plants. The ground teams gathered data from rain gauges, temperature and humidity sensors, wind equipment and buried sensors. The Town of Hanley helped with the experiment by performing maintenance on the airstrip so it could accommodate the Twin Otter. As well, many farmers and landowners in the area allowed the researchers to use their land. The leaderonline is a division of The Davidson Leader, Davidson, Saskatchewan, Canada. |