Development of Community, Capabilities, and Understanding through Unmanned Aircraft-Based Atmospheric Research: The LAPSE-RATE Campaign
Year: 2019
Type: article
Abstract: ABSTRACT Because unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) offer new perspectives on the atmosphere, their use in atmospheric science is expanding rapidly. In support of this growth, the International Society for Atmospheric Research Using Remotely-Piloted Aircraft (ISARRA) has been developed and has convened annual meetings and “flight weeks.” The 2018 flight week, dubbed the Lower Atmospheric Profiling Studies at Elevation–A Remotely-Piloted Aircraft Team Experiment (LAPSE-RATE), involved a 1-week deployment to Colorado’s San Luis Valley. Between 14 and 20 July 2018 over 100 students, scientists, engineers, pilots, and outreach coordinators conducted an intensive field operation using unmanned aircraft and ground-based assets to develop datasets, community, and capabilities. In addition to a coordinated “Community Day” which offered a chance for groups to share their aircraft and science with the San Luis Valley community, LAPSE-RATE participants conducted nearly 1,300 research flights totaling over 250 flight hours. The measurements collected have been used to advance capabilities (instrumentation, platforms, sampling techniques, and modeling tools), conduct a detailed system intercomparison study, develop new collaborations, and foster community support for the use of UAS in atmospheric science.
Authors: Gijs de Boer, Constantin Diehl, Jamey Jacob, Adam Houston, Suzanne W. Smith, Phillip Chilson, David G. Schmale, Janet Intrieri, James Pinto, Jack Elston, David Brus, Osku Kemppinen, Alex Clark, Dale Lawrence, Sean C. C. Bailey, Michael P. Sama, Amy Frazier, Christopher Crick, Victoria Natalie, Elizabeth Pillar-Little, Petra Klein, Sean Waugh, Julie K. Lundquist, Lindsay Barbieri, Stephan T. Kral, Anders A. Jensen, Cory Dixon, Steven Borenstein, Daniel Hesselius, Kathleen Human, Philip Hall, Brian Argrow, Troy Thornberry, Randy Wright, Jason T. Kelly
Institutions: Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory, Oklahoma State University, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, University of Kentucky, University of Oklahoma, Virginia Tech, NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research, Black Swift Technologies (United States), Finnish Meteorological Institute, Kansas State University, IERUS Technologies (United States), Arizona State University, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory, National Laboratory of the Rockies, University of Vermont, Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, University of Bergen, NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory
Language: English
Subfield: Aerospace Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funders: National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, Norges Forskningsråd, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science, Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems, Space and Missile Defense Command, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Awards: G1367783053, G14908310, SUPPORT FOR THE 6TH INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH USING REMOTELY-PILOTED AIRCRAFT (ISARRA) MEETING, G379370051, G3883580859, G3885393566, G440252240, Hazards SEES: Advanced Lagrangian Methods for Prediction, Mitigation and Response to Environmental Flow Hazards, G4785159920, RII Track-2 FEC: Unmanned Aircraft System for Atmospheric Physics, G6156731754, G6195818568, International Society for Atmospheric Research Using Remotely-Piloted Aircraft (ISARRA) Meeting Support; Boulder, Colorado; July 9-12, 2018, G7021897321, G944719100
OpenAlex ID: W2986524933