Drone Invasion: What are "sUAS" and what can they do for PSL?

Gijs de Boer

Tuesday, Jun 06, 2017, 2:00 pm
DSRC Room 2A305

Abstract

Use of unmanned aircraft in atmospheric research is expanding at a rapid pace. Such efforts have relied on a variety of platforms, ranging from the very large (e.g. Global Hawk) to the very small (e.g. DataHawk). These platforms can obtain information on spatial heterogeneity and vertical structure across a variety of scales. Additionally, they can be deployed to environments not easily observed by traditional observing systems. Given the low cost and relative ease of deployment of small UAS (sUAS, defined by the FAA as < 55 lbs.), recent years have seen an uptick in the use of these platforms in observing atmospheric and oceanic properties. In collaboration with research partners in the University of Colorado’s Research and Engineering Center for Unmanned Vehicles (RECUV) POP has deployed sUAS to northern Alaska in recent years to measure lower atmospheric thermodynamic structure, turbulent surface fluxes, radiation, aerosol properties and surface characteristics. In this presentation, we will provide an overview of what small UAS are, some of the work that has been completed to develop and deploy these platforms, and perspectives on how their capabilities can benefit funded and proposed PSL integrative projects.