Aerosol 3

Investigating the Small-Scale Vertical and Horizontal Variability of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer Aerosol using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

01/01/2017 to 31/12/2019

The aim of the proposed project is to investigate the vertical and horizontal distribution, transport and small-scale variability of aerosol particles in the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) using an in situ approach by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). They expand the capabilities for aerosol investigation and fill the gap between continuous ground-based observations and aircraft measurements. This project will use three UAV simultaneously. A miniature aerosol measurement system, detecting the number concentration in eight particle size ranges, will be developed and characterized for a new UAV. The two other UAV will be equipped for measurements of the turbulent thermodynamic properties of the ABL (e.g. turbulent fluxes) on horizontal flights and vertical profiles. The approach of using several UAVs simultaneously meets the strategy of distributed intelligence and tasks in a swarm of autonomous systems. Different flight patterns will allow comparing data with ground- and helicopter-based measurements, to investigate regions where new small particles are formed, to observe the diurnal cycle of vertical aerosol distribution in dependence of the ABL structure, and to characterize the influence of surface types on the horizontal small-scale aerosol variability.