title: Characterization of a Quadrotor Unmanned Aircraft System for Aerosol-Particle-Concentration Measurements.
abstract: High-spatial-resolution, near-surface vertical profiling of atmospheric chemical composition is currently limited by the availability of experimental platforms that can sample in constrained environments. As a result, measurements of near-surface gradients in trace gas and aerosol particle concentrations have been limited to studies conducted from fixed location towers or tethered balloons. Here, we explore the utility of a quadrotor unmanned aircraft system (UAS) as a sampling platform to measure vertical and horizontal concentration gradients of trace gases and aerosol particles at high spatial resolution (1 m) within the mixed layer (0-100 m). A 3D Robotics Iris+ autonomous quadrotor UAS was outfitted with a sensor package consisting of a two-channel aerosol optical particle counter and a CO2 sensor. The UAS demonstrated high precision in both vertical (±0.5 m) and horizontal positions (±1 m), highlighting the potential utility of quadrotor UAS drones for aerosol- and trace-gas measurements within complex terrain, such as the urban environment, forest canopies, and above difficult-to-access areas such as breaking surf. Vertical profiles of aerosol particle number concentrations, acquired from flights conducted along the California coastline, were used to constrain sea-spray aerosol-emission rates from coastal wave breaking.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin , Madison, 53706 Wisconsin, United States.
authors.forename: James M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Brady
authors.affiliation: Scripps Institution of Oceanography , La Jolla, 92037 California, United States.
authors.forename: M Dale
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Stokes
authors.affiliation: Radio Control Specialties , San Diego, California 92111, United States.
authors.forename: Jim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bonnardel
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin , Madison, 53706 Wisconsin, United States.
authors.forename: Timothy H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Bertram
mesh_terms: D000336:Aerosols / Q000032:analysis*; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000737:chemistry*; D000401:Aircraft; D002140:California; D010316:Particle Size
chemical_list: D000336:Aerosols; D000393:Air Pollutants