Application of a Small Unmanned Aerial System to Measure Ammonia Emissions from a Pilot Amine-CO2 Capture System.

The quantification of atmospheric gases with small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) is expanding the ability to safely perform environmental monitoring tasks and quickly evaluate the impact of technologies. In this work, a calibrated sUAS is used to quantify the emissions of ammonia (NH3) gas from the exit stack a 0.1 MWth pilot-scale carbon capture system (CCS) employing a 5 M monoethanolamine (MEA) solvent to scrub CO2 from coal combustion flue gas. A comparison of the results using the sUAS against the ion chromatography technique with the EPA CTM-027 method for the standard emission sampling of NH3 shows good agreement. Therefore, the work demonstrates the usefulness of sUAS as an alternative method of emission measurement, supporting its application in lieu of traditional sampling techniques to collect real time emission data.

Using a Balloon-Launched Unmanned Glider to Validate Real-Time WRF Modeling.

The use of small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) for meteorological measurements has expanded significantly in recent years. SUAS are efficient platforms for collecting data with high resolution in both space and time, providing opportunities for enhanced atmospheric sampling. Furthermore, advances in mesoscale weather research and forecasting (WRF) modeling and graphical processing unit (GPU) computing have enabled high resolution weather modeling. In this manuscript, a balloon-launched unmanned glider, complete with a suite of sensors to measure atmospheric temperature, pressure, and relative humidity, is deployed for validation of real-time weather models. This work demonstrates the usefulness of sUAS for validating and improving mesoscale, real-time weather models for advancements toward reliable weather forecasts to enable safe and predictable sUAS missions beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS).

Intercomparison of Small Unmanned Aircraft System (sUAS) Measurements for Atmospheric Science during the LAPSE-RATE Campaign.

Small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) are rapidly transforming atmospheric research. With the advancement of the development and application of these systems, improving knowledge of best practices for accurate measurement is critical for achieving scientific goals. We present results from an intercomparison of atmospheric measurement data from the Lower Atmospheric Process Studies at Elevation-a Remotely piloted Aircraft Team Experiment (LAPSE-RATE) field campaign. We evaluate a total of 38 individual sUAS with 23 unique sensor and platform configurations using a meteorological tower for reference measurements. We assess precision, bias, and time response of sUAS measurements of temperature, humidity, pressure, wind speed, and wind direction. Most sUAS measurements show broad agreement with the reference, particularly temperature and wind speed, with mean value differences of 1.6 ± 2 . 6 ∘ C and 0.22 ± 0 . 59 m/s for all sUAS, respectively. sUAS platform and sensor configurations were found to contribute significantly to measurement accuracy. Sensor configurations, which included proper aspiration and radiation shielding of sensors, were found to provide the most accurate thermodynamic measurements (temperature and relative humidity), whereas sonic anemometers on multirotor platforms provided the most accurate wind measurements (horizontal speed and direction). We contribute both a characterization and assessment of sUAS for measuring atmospheric parameters, and identify important challenges and opportunities for improving scientific measurements with sUAS.