An Overview of Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Air Quality Measurements: Present Applications and Future Prospectives
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paper_title: Wind reduction by aerosol particles

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[1] Aerosol particles are known to affect radiation, temperatures, stability, clouds, and precipitation, but their effects on spatially-distributed wind speed have not been examined to date. Here, it is found that aerosol particles, directly and through their enhancement of clouds, may reduce near-surface wind speeds below them by up to 8% locally. This reduction may explain a portion of observed “disappearing winds” in China, and it decreases the energy available for wind-turbine electricity. In California, slower winds reduce emissions of wind-driven soil dust and sea spray. Slower winds and cooler surface temperatures also reduce moisture advection and evaporation. These factors, along with the second indirect aerosol effect, may reduce California precipitation by 2–5%, contributing to a strain on water supply.
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paper_title: A satellite view of aerosols in the climate system

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Anthropogenic aerosols are intricately linked to the climate system and to the hydrologic cycle. The net effect of aerosols is to cool the climate system by reflecting sunlight. Depending on their composition, aerosols can also absorb sunlight in the atmosphere, further cooling the surface but warming the atmosphere in the process. These effects of aerosols on the temperature profile, along with the role of aerosols as cloud condensation nuclei, impact the hydrologic cycle, through changes in cloud cover, cloud properties and precipitation. Unravelling these feedbacks is particularly difficult because aerosols take a multitude of shapes and forms, ranging from desert dust to urban pollution, and because aerosol concentrations vary strongly over time and space. To accurately study aerosol distribution and composition therefore requires continuous observations from satellites, networks of ground-based instruments and dedicated field experiments. Increases in aerosol concentration and changes in their composition, driven by industrialization and an expanding population, may adversely affect the Earth's climate and water supply.
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paper_title: Observations of convective and dynamical instabilities in tropopause folds and their contribution to stratosphere-troposphere exchange

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With aircraft-mounted in situ and remote sensing instruments for dynamical, thermal, and chemical measurements we studied two cases of tropopause folding. In both folds we found Kelvin-Helmholtz billows with horizontal wavelength of ∼900 m and thickness of ∼120 m. In one case the instability was effectively mixing the bottomside of the fold, leading to the transfer of stratospheric air into the troposphere. Also, we discovered in both cases small-scale secondary ozone maxima shortly after the aircraft ascended past the topside of the fold that corresponded to regions of convective instability. We interpreted this phenomenon as convectively breaking gravity waves. Therefore we posit that convectively breaking gravity waves acting on tropopause folds must be added to the list of important irreversible mixing mechanisms leading to stratosphere-troposphere exchange.
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paper_title: Atmospheric composition change – global and regional air quality

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Air quality transcends all scales with in the atmosphere from the local to the global with handovers and feedbacks at each scale interaction. Air quality has manifold effects on health, ecosystems, heritage and climate. In this review the state of scientific understanding in relation to global and regional air quality is outlined. The review discusses air quality, in terms of emissions, processing and transport of trace gases and aerosols. New insights into the characterization of both natural and anthropogenic emissions are reviewed looking at both natural (e.g. dust and lightning) as well as plant emissions. Trends in anthropogenic emissions both by region and globally are discussed as well as biomass burning emissions. In terms of chemical processing the major air quality elements of ozone, non-methane hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides and aerosols are covered. A number of topics are presented as a way of integrating the process view into the atmospheric context; these include the atmospheric oxidation efficiency, halogen and HOx chemistry, nighttime chemistry, tropical chemistry, heat waves, megacities, biomass burning and the regional hot spot of the Mediterranean. New findings with respect to the transport of pollutants across the scales are discussed, in particular the move to quantify the impact of long-range transport on regional air quality. Gaps and research questions that remain intractable are identified. The review concludes with a focus of research and policy questions for the coming decade. In particular, the policy challenges for concerted air quality and climate change policy (co-benefit) are discussed.
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paper_title: Climate effects of black carbon aerosols in China and India.

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In recent decades, there has been a tendency toward increased summer floods in south China, increased drought in north China, and moderate cooling in China and India while most of the world has been warming. We used a global climate model to investigate possible aerosol contributions to these trends. We found precipitation and temperature changes in the model that were comparable to those observed if the aerosols included a large proportion of absorbing black carbon (“soot”), similar to observed amounts. Absorbing aerosols heat the air, alter regional atmospheric stability and vertical motions, and affect the large-scale circulation and hydrologic cycle with significant regional climate effects.
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paper_title: Trace gas and aerosol measurements using aircraft data from the North Atlantic Regional Experiment (NARE 1993)

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Measurements of the concentrations of O3, CO, NO, NOy, condensation nuclei, and aerosols in 12 size bins ranging from 0.1 to 3.1 μm as well as a variety of meteorological parameters were collected aboard the NCAR King Air in August 1993 during 16 flights over or near the Gulf of Maine. The purpose of this measurement campaign was to describe the sources and variation of ozone and its precursors in the western NARE region during the summer season. Correlations between O3 and CO, O3 and NOy, and other chemical and aerosol measurements are examined. Several features in the altitude profiles are investigated using principal component analysis. The results of the trace gas analyses indicate that anthropogenically influenced ozone production dominated ozone throughout the experimental region at altitudes below 1500 m. Other factors identified include a distinct signature from fresh emissions below 1500 m. Above 1500 m the sources of ozone were determined by transport from a variety of sources.
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paper_title: Indian Ocean Experiment: An integrated analysis of the climate forcing and effects of the great Indo-Asian haze

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Every year, from December to April, anthropogenic haze spreads over most of the North Indian Ocean, and South and Southeast Asia. The Indian Ocean Experiment (INDOEX) documented this Indo-Asian haze at scales ranging from individual particles to its contribution to the regional climate forcing. This study integrates the multiplatform observations (satellites, aircraft, ships, surface stations, and balloons) with one- and four-dimensional models to derive the regional aerosol forcing resulting from the direct, the semidirect and the two indirect effects. The haze particles consisted of several inorganic and carbonaceous species, including absorbing black carbon clusters, fly ash, and mineral dust. The most striking result was the large loading of aerosols over most of the South Asian region and the North Indian Ocean. The January to March 1999 visible optical depths were about 0.5 over most of the continent and reached values as large as 0.2 over the equatorial Indian ocean due to long-range transport. The aerosol layer extended as high as 3 km. Black carbon contributed about 14% to the fine particle mass and 11% to the visible optical depth. The single-scattering albedo estimated by several independent methods was consistently around 0.9 both inland and over the open ocean. Anthropogenic sources contributed as much as 80% (±10%) to the aerosol loading and the optical depth. The in situ data, which clearly support the existence of the first indirect effect (increased aerosol concentration producing more cloud drops with smaller effective radii), are used to develop a composite indirect effect scheme. The Indo-Asian aerosols impact the radiative forcing through a complex set of heating (positive forcing) and cooling (negative forcing) processes. Clouds and black carbon emerge as the major players. The dominant factor, however, is the large negative forcing (-20±4 W m^(−2)) at the surface and the comparably large atmospheric heating. Regionally, the absorbing haze decreased the surface solar radiation by an amount comparable to 50% of the total ocean heat flux and nearly doubled the lower tropospheric solar heating. We demonstrate with a general circulation model how this additional heating significantly perturbs the tropical rainfall patterns and the hydrological cycle with implications to global climate.
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paper_title: Aircraft Measurements of Dimethyl Sulfide (DMS) Using a Whole Air Sampling Technique

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We present a technique for the measurement of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) from airborne and ground-based platforms, using whole air sampling followed by gas chromatography with mass spectrometer and flame ionization detection. DMS measurements that were obtained during the 1999 NASA Pacific Exploratory Mission-Tropics B showed excellent agreement with independent in-flight DMS measurements, over a wide range of concentrations. The intercomparison supports two key results from this study, first that DMS can be accurately quantified based on ethane and propane per-carbon-response-factors (PCRFs), and second that DMS is stable in water-doped electropolished stainless steel canisters for at least several weeks. In addition, our sampling frequency and duration are flexible and allow detail in the vertical structure of DMS to be well captured. Sampling times as fast as 8 s were achieved and these data are suitable for DMS flux calculations using the mixed-layer gradient technique. Correlations between DMS and other marine tracers can also be readily investigated by this whole air sampling technique, because DMS is analyzed together with more than 50 simultaneously sampled hydrocarbons, halocarbons, and alkyl nitrates. The detection limit of the DMS measurements is 1 part per trillion by volume (pptv), and we conservatively estimate the accuracy to be ±20% or 3 pptv, whichever is larger. The measurement precision (1σ ) is 2–4% at high mixing ratios (> 25 pptv), and 1 pptv or 15%, whichever is larger, at low mixing ratios (<10 pptv).
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paper_title: Long-term greenhouse gas measurements from aircraft

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Abstract. In March 2009 the NOAA/ESRL/GMD Carbon Cycle and Greenhouse Gases Group collaborated with the US Coast Guard (USCG) to establish the Alaska Coast Guard (ACG) sampling site, a unique addition to NOAA's atmospheric monitoring network. This collaboration takes advantage of USCG bi-weekly Arctic Domain Awareness (ADA) flights, conducted with Hercules C-130 aircraft from March to November each year. Flights typically last 8 h and cover a large area, traveling from Kodiak up to Barrow, Alaska, with altitude profiles near the coast and in the interior. NOAA instrumentation on each flight includes a flask sampling system, a continuous cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) carbon dioxide (CO2)/methane (CH4)/carbon monoxide (CO)/water vapor (H2O) analyzer, a continuous ozone analyzer, and an ambient temperature and humidity sensor. Air samples collected in flight are analyzed at NOAA/ESRL for the major greenhouse gases and a variety of halocarbons and hydrocarbons that influence climate, stratospheric ozone, and air quality. We describe the overall system for making accurate greenhouse gas measurements using a CRDS analyzer on an aircraft with minimal operator interaction and present an assessment of analyzer performance over a three-year period. Overall analytical uncertainty of CRDS measurements in 2011 is estimated to be 0.15 ppm, 1.4 ppb, and 5 ppb for CO2, CH4, and CO, respectively, considering short-term precision, calibration uncertainties, and water vapor correction uncertainty. The stability of the CRDS analyzer over a seven-month deployment period is better than 0.15 ppm, 2 ppb, and 4 ppb for CO2, CH4, and CO, respectively, based on differences of on-board reference tank measurements from a laboratory calibration performed prior to deployment. This stability is not affected by variation in pressure or temperature during flight. We conclude that the uncertainty reported for our measurements would not be significantly affected if the measurements were made without in-flight calibrations, provided ground calibrations and testing were performed regularly. Comparisons between in situ CRDS measurements and flask measurements are consistent with expected measurement uncertainties for CH4 and CO, but differences are larger than expected for CO2. Biases and standard deviations of comparisons with flask samples suggest that atmospheric variability, flask-to-flask variability, and possible flask sampling biases may be driving the observed flask versus in situ CO2 differences rather than the CRDS measurements.
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paper_title: The CSIRO (Australia) Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Monitoring Program: Ten years of aircraft data

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A description is given of modifications to the CSIRO carbon dioxide aircraft monitoring program. Details are provided of the methods used to establish the pressure-broadening carrier-gas corrections for the gas analysers used. With these corrections applied, the data are presented in the WMO 1981 CO2 Calibration Scale for the period 1972 through 1981.
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paper_title: Global air pollution crossroads over the Mediterranean.

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The Mediterranean Intensive Oxidant Study, performed in the summer of 2001, uncovered air pollution layers from the surface to an altitude of 15 kilometers. In the boundary layer, air pollution standards are exceeded throughout the region, caused by West and East European pollution from the north. Aerosol particles also reduce solar radiation penetration to the surface, which can suppress precipitation. In the middle troposphere, Asian and to a lesser extent North American pollution is transported from the west. Additional Asian pollution from the east, transported from the monsoon in the upper troposphere, crosses the Mediterranean tropopause, which pollutes the lower stratosphere at middle latitudes.
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paper_title: Planning, implementation, and first results of the Tropical Composition, Cloud and Climate Coupling Experiment (TC4)

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[1] The Tropical Composition, Cloud and Climate Coupling Experiment (TC4), was based in Costa Rica and Panama during July and August 2007. The NASA ER-2, DC-8, and WB-57F aircraft flew 26 science flights during TC4. The ER-2 employed 11 instruments as a remote sampling platform and satellite surrogate. The WB-57F used 25 instruments for in situ chemical and microphysical sampling in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL). The DC-8 used 25 instruments to sample boundary layer properties, as well as the radiation, chemistry, and microphysics of the TTL. TC4 also had numerous sonde launches, two ground-based radars, and a ground-based chemical and microphysical sampling site. The major goal of TC4 was to better understand the role that the TTL plays in the Earth's climate and atmospheric chemistry by combining in situ and remotely sensed data from the ground, balloons, and aircraft with data from NASA satellites. Significant progress was made in understanding the microphysical and radiative properties of anvils and thin cirrus. Numerous measurements were made of the humidity and chemistry of the tropical atmosphere from the boundary layer to the lower stratosphere. Insight was also gained into convective transport between the ground and the TTL, and into transport mechanisms across the TTL. New methods were refined and extended to all the NASA aircraft for real-time location relative to meteorological features. The ability to change flight patterns in response to aircraft observations relayed to the ground allowed the three aircraft to target phenomena of interest in an efficient, well-coordinated manner.
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paper_title: CARIBIC—Civil Aircraft for Global Measurement of Trace Gases and Aerosols in the Tropopause Region

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Abstract The deployment of measurement equipment in passenger aircraft for the observation of atmospheric trace constituents is described. The package of automated instruments that is installed in a one-ton-capacity aircraft freight container positioned in the forward cargo bay of a Boeing 767 ER can register a vast amount of atmospheric data during regular long-distance flights. The air inlet system that is mounted on the fuselage directly below the container comprises an aerosol inlet, a separate inlet for trace-gas sampling, and an air exhaust. All instruments, the central computer, and power supply are mounted in aviation-approved racks that slide into the reinforced container. The current instrument package comprises a fast-response chemiluminescence sensor and a conventional UV absorption detector for O3; a gas chromatograph for CO; two condensation nuclei counters for particles larger than 5 and 12 nm; and a 12-canister large-capacity whole air sampler for laboratory trace-gas analysis and isotopic...
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paper_title: Soot climate forcing via snow and ice albedos

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Plausible estimates for the effect of soot on snow and ice albedos (1.5% in the Arctic and 3% in Northern Hemisphere land areas) yield a climate forcing of +0.3 W/m(2) in the Northern Hemisphere. The "efficacy" of this forcing is approximately 2, i.e., for a given forcing it is twice as effective as CO(2) in altering global surface air temperature. This indirect soot forcing may have contributed to global warming of the past century, including the trend toward early springs in the Northern Hemisphere, thinning Arctic sea ice, and melting land ice and permafrost. If, as we suggest, melting ice and sea level rise define the level of dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system, then reducing soot emissions, thus restoring snow albedos to pristine high values, would have the double benefit of reducing global warming and raising the global temperature level at which dangerous anthropogenic interference occurs. However, soot contributions to climate change do not alter the conclusion that anthropogenic greenhouse gases have been the main cause of recent global warming and will be the predominant climate forcing in the future.
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paper_title: A comparative risk assessment of burden of disease and injury attributable to 67 risk factors and risk factor clusters in 21 regions, 1990–2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010

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PMC Free-text ::: ::: BACKGROUND ::: ::: Quantification of the disease burden caused by different risks informs prevention by providing an account of health loss different to that provided by a disease-by-disease analysis. No complete revision of global disease burden caused by risk factors has been done since a comparative risk assessment in 2000, and no previous analysis has assessed changes in burden attributable to risk factors over time. ::: ::: METHODS ::: ::: We estimated deaths and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs; sum of years lived with disability [YLD] and years of life lost [YLL]) attributable to the independent effects of 67 risk factors and clusters of risk factors for 21 regions in 1990 and 2010. We estimated exposure distributions for each year, region, sex, and age group, and relative risks per unit of exposure by systematically reviewing and synthesising published and unpublished data. We used these estimates, together with estimates of cause-specific deaths and DALYs from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010, to calculate the burden attributable to each risk factor exposure compared with the theoretical-minimum-risk exposure. We incorporated uncertainty in disease burden, relative risks, and exposures into our estimates of attributable burden. ::: ::: FINDINGS ::: ::: In 2010, the three leading risk factors for global disease burden were high blood pressure (7·0% [95% uncertainty interval 6·2-7·7] of global DALYs), tobacco smoking including second-hand smoke (6·3% [5·5-7·0]), and alcohol use (5·5% [5·0-5·9]). In 1990, the leading risks were childhood underweight (7·9% [6·8-9·4]), household air pollution from solid fuels (HAP; 7·0% [5·6-8·3]), and tobacco smoking including second-hand smoke (6·1% [5·4-6·8]). Dietary risk factors and physical inactivity collectively accounted for 10·0% (95% UI 9·2-10·8) of global DALYs in 2010, with the most prominent dietary risks being diets low in fruits and those high in sodium. Several risks that primarily affect childhood communicable diseases, including unimproved water and sanitation and childhood micronutrient deficiencies, fell in rank between 1990 and 2010, with unimproved water and sanitation accounting for 0·9% (0·4-1·6) of global DALYs in 2010. However, in most of sub-Saharan Africa childhood underweight, HAP, and non-exclusive and discontinued breastfeeding were the leading risks in 2010, while HAP was the leading risk in south Asia. The leading risk factor in Eastern Europe, most of Latin America, and southern sub-Saharan Africa in 2010 was alcohol use; in most of Asia, North Africa and Middle East, and central Europe it was high blood pressure. Despite declines, tobacco smoking including second-hand smoke remained the leading risk in high-income north America and western Europe. High body-mass index has increased globally and it is the leading risk in Australasia and southern Latin America, and also ranks high in other high-income regions, North Africa and Middle East, and Oceania. ::: ::: INTERPRETATION ::: ::: Worldwide, the contribution of different risk factors to disease burden has changed substantially, with a shift away from risks for communicable diseases in children towards those for non-communicable diseases in adults. These changes are related to the ageing population, decreased mortality among children younger than 5 years, changes in cause-of-death composition, and changes in risk factor exposures. New evidence has led to changes in the magnitude of key risks including unimproved water and sanitation, vitamin A and zinc deficiencies, and ambient particulate matter pollution. The extent to which the epidemiological shift has occurred and what the leading risks currently are varies greatly across regions. In much of sub-Saharan Africa, the leading risks are still those associated with poverty and those that affect children.
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paper_title: The concentration-response relation between PM(2.5) and daily deaths.

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Particulate air pollution at commonly occurring concentrations is associated with daily deaths. Recent attention has focused on the shape of the concentration-response curve, particularly at low doses. Several recent articles have reported that particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter < or = 10 microm (PM(10)) was associated with daily deaths with no evidence of a threshold. These reports have used smoothing or spline methods in individual cities and pooled the results across multiple cities to obtain estimates that are more robust. To date, fine particulate matter (aerodynamic diameter Less than or equal to 2.5 microm; PM(2.5)), a component of PM(10), has not been examined in this regard. We examined this association in a hierarchical model in six U.S. cities. In the first stage, we fit log-linear models including smooth functions of PM(2.5) in each city, controlling for season, weather, and day of the week. These smooth functions allowed for nonlinearities in the city-specific associations. We combined the estimated curves across cities using a hierarchical model that allows for heterogeneity. We found an essentially linear relationship down to 2 microg/m(3). The same approach was applied to examine the concentration response to traffic particles, controlling for particles from other sources. Once again, the association showed no sign of a threshold. The magnitude of the association suggests that controlling fine particle pollution would result in thousands of fewer early deaths per year.
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paper_title: A modeling study of the direct effect of aerosols over the tropical Indian Ocean

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The microphysical, chemical, optical, and lidar data collected during the Indian Ocean Experiment (INDOEX) resulted in a self-consistent aerosol formulation for a multiple-scattering Monte Carlo radiation model. The model was used to simulate the direct aerosol radiative forcing, cloud radiative forcing, and heating rates for typical winter monsoon conditions over the tropical Indian Ocean. The focus of the study is to understand how the anthropogenic and natural aerosols partition the incoming solar energy between the ocean mixed layer and the overlying cloudy atmosphere. The observed aerosol single-scattering albedo, ϖ, was in the range 0.8–0.9 at 500 nm, mean aerosol visible optical thickness, τA, was in the range 0.1–0.8 at 500 nm, and the low-level clouds had horizontal scales of few kilometers and a cloud fraction of about 25%, typical of low-level clouds in the tropical oceans. The aerosol layer extended well above the low-level clouds in many instances, which has a significant impact on the radiative forcing. Although contributing only about 10% to the aerosol optical thickness, the soot transported from Asia and the Indian subcontinent significantly affects the aerosol direct forcing of the cloudy atmosphere. For monthly mean conditions (τA = 0.4, ϖ = 0.9 and 25% low-cloud fraction), the diurnal mean surface radiative forcing is about −25 W m−2 and the atmospheric forcing ranges from +22 to +25 W m−2. The top-of-the-atmosphere direct aerosol forcing is in the range of zero to −3 W m−2. The aerosol enhances the cloud atmospheric forcing by 0.5 and by 2.5 W m−2 when aerosol is mostly below and above the clouds, respectively. Furthermore, the trade wind boundary layer is subject to a heating of about 1 to 1.5 K/d which might burn off the trade cumulus themselves. Thus the major impact of the predominantly anthropogenic aerosol over the tropical Indian Ocean is a substantial redistribution of the solar energy between the atmosphere and the ocean mixed layer.
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paper_title: Optical properties of soot–water drop agglomerates: An experimental study

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[1] Black carbon (BC) and organic carbon (OC) are the largest contributors to the aerosol absorption in the atmosphere, yet the absorption cross sections of BC and OC per unit mass are subject to a large uncertainty due to morphology, physicochemical properties, and the mixing state of carbonaceous particles. Theoretical studies suggest the possibility of an enhanced absorption by soot–cloud drop agglomerates; however, the magnitude of the effect has never been measured directly and remains highly uncertain. This study is a laboratory experiment aimed at the modeling of direct radiation forcing due to soot-water interaction in the presence of glutaric acid, a water-soluble OC. Specifically, we generate, in the laboratory, hydrophobic soot (acetylene soot) and hydrophilic soot (mixture of acetylene soot and glutaric acid) and investigate the structural and optical properties of hydrophobic and hydrophilic soot particles in dry and water-saturated air. Hydrophobic soot (HBS) particles do not exhibit any structural or morphological differences under dry and saturated conditions, whereas hydrophilic soot (HLS) particles, i.e., BC with a monolayer of glutaric acid, collapse into globules when relative humidity (RH) is increased to saturation. The optical properties of HBS show very little dependence on RH while HLS scattering and absorption coefficient increase markedly with RH. For the cases considered here, the maximum enhancement in absorption for a soot–water drop mixture was as much as a factor of 3.5, very similar to theoretical predictions. The data provided in this study should advance the treatment of polluted cloud layers in climate models.
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paper_title: Combustion-derived nanoparticles: A review of their toxicology following inhalation exposure

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This review considers the molecular toxicology of combustion-derived nanoparticles (CDNP) following inhalation exposure. CDNP originate from a number of sources and in this review we consider diesel soot, welding fume, carbon black and coal fly ash. A substantial literature demonstrates that these pose a hazard to the lungs through their potential to cause oxidative stress, inflammation and cancer; they also have the potential to redistribute to other organs following pulmonary deposition. These different CDNP show considerable heterogeneity in composition and solubility, meaning that oxidative stress may originate from different components depending on the particle under consideration. Key CDNP-associated properties of large surface area and the presence of metals and organics all have the potential to produce oxidative stress. CDNP may also exert genotoxic effects, depending on their composition. CDNP and their components also have the potential to translocate to the brain and also the blood, and thereby reach other targets such as the cardiovascular system, spleen and liver. CDNP therefore can be seen as a group of particulate toxins unified by a common mechanism of injury and properties of translocation which have the potential to mediate a range of adverse effects in the lungs and other organs and warrant further research.
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paper_title: Characterization and source identification of a fine particle episode in Finland

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Abstract A strong long-range transported (LRT) fine particle (PM 2.5 ) episode occurred from March 17–22, 2002 over large areas of Finland. Most of the LRT particle mass was in the submicrometre size fraction. The number of concentrations of 90–500 nm particles increased by a factor of 5.6 during the episode, but the concentrations of particles smaller than 90 nm decreased. This reduction of the smallest particles was caused by suppressed gas-to-particle conversion due to the vapour uptake of LRT particles. Individual particle analyses using SEM/EDX showed that the proportion of sulphur-rich particles rose strongly during the episode and that the relative weight percentage of potassium was unusually high in these particles. The median S/K ratios of S-rich particles were 2.1 at the beginning of the episode, 5.2 at the peak stage of the episode and 8.9 during the reference days. The high proportion of K is a clear indication of emissions from biomass burning, because K is a good tracer of biomass-burning aerosols. Trajectories and satellite detections of fire areas indicated that the main source of biomass-burning aerosols was large-scale agricultural field burning in the Baltic countries, Belarus, Ukraine and Russia. The higher S/K ratio of S-rich particles during the peak stage was obviously due to the increased proportion of fossil fuel-burning emissions in the LRT particle mass, since air masses arrived from the more polluted areas of Europe at that time. The concentrations of sulphate, total nitrate and total ammonium increased during the episode. Our results suggest that large-scale agricultural field burning may substantially affect PM 2.5 concentrations under unfavourable meteorological conditions even at distances over 1000 km from the burning areas.
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paper_title: Experimental investigation of ultra-fine particle size distribution near a busy road

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In this paper, evolution of the size distribution of fine and ultra-fine particles emitted from vehicles on a busy road is investigated experimentally. In particular, several different modes (distinct maxima) of the particle size distribution are investigated as a function of the distance from the road. An unusual and complex evolution of these modes is discovered. In particular, it is demonstrated that some of the modes tend to shift towards smaller particle size, which has never been reported previously. Complex correlation between the modes is determined experimentally. In addition, for the first time, the total number concentration is clearly shown to go through a significant maximum at some distance from the road. This could have significant influence on the assessment of exposure to fine and ultra-fine particles in the vicinity of busy roads.
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paper_title: Controlled exposures of volunteers to respirable carbon and sulfuric acid aerosols

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Respirable carbon or fly ash particles are suspected to increase the respiratory toxicity of coexisting acidic air pollutants, by concentrating acid on their surfaces and so delivering it efficiently to the lower respiratory tract. To investigate this issue, we exposed 15 healthy and 15 asthmatic volunteers in a controlled- environment chamber (21°C, 50 percent relative humidity) to four test atmospheres: (i) clean air; (ii) 0.5-μm H2SO4 aerosol at =100 μg/m3, generated from water solution; (iii) 0,5-μm carbon aerosol at =250 μg/m3, generated from highly pure carbon black with specific surface area comparable to ambient pollution particles; and (iv) carbon as in (iii) plus =100 μg/m3 of ultrafine H2SO4 aerosol generated from fuming sulfuric acid. Electron microscopy showed that nearly all acid in (iv) became attached to carbon particle surfaces, and that most particles remained in the sub-μm size range. Exposures were performed double-blind, 1 week apart. They lasted 1 hr each, with alternate 10-min perio...
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paper_title: Reactive hydrocarbons in the atmosphere

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R. Friedich and A. Obermeier, Anthropogenic Emissions of Vocs. R. Fall, Biogenic Emissions of Vocs from Higher Plants. A. Guenther, Modeling Biogenic Voc Emissions to the Atmosphere. X.-L. Cao and C.N. Hewitt, The Sampling and Analysis of Vocs in the Atmosphere. P. Ciccioli, E. Brancaleoni, And M. Frattoni, Reactive Hydrocarbons in the Atmosphere at Urban and Regional Scales. B. Bonsang and C. Boissard, Global Distribution of Reactive Hydrocarbons in the Atmosphere. R.G. Derwent, Reactive Hydrocarbons and Photochemical Air Pollution. J. Seinfeld, Global Atmospheric Chemistry of Reactive Hydrocarbons. References.
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paper_title: Impacts of near-future cultivation of biofuel feedstocks on atmospheric composition and local air quality

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Large-scale production of feedstock crops for bio- fuels will lead to land use changes. We quantify the effects of realistic land use change scenarios for biofuel feedstock pro- duction on isoprene emissions and hence atmospheric com- position and chemistry using the HadGEM2 model. Two feedstocks are considered: oil palm for biodiesel in the trop- ics and short rotation coppice (SRC) in the mid-latitudes. In total, 69 Mha of oil palm and 92 Mha of SRC are planted, each sufficient to replace just over 1 % of projected global fossil fuel demand in 2020. Both planting scenarios result in increases in total global annual isoprene emissions of about 1 %. In each case, changes in surface concentrations of ozone and biogenic secondary organic aerosol (bSOA) are substan- tial at the regional scale, with implications for air quality standards. However, the changes in tropospheric burden of ozone and the OH radical, and hence effects on global cli- mate, are negligible. Over SE Asia, one region of oil palm planting, increases in annual mean surface ozone and bSOA concentrations reach over 3 ppbv (+11 %) and 0.4 µgm 3 (+10 %) respectively for parts of Borneo, with monthly mean increases of up to 6.5 ppbv (+25 %) and 0.5 µg m 3 (+12 %). Under the SRC scenario, Europe experiences monthly mean changes of over 0.6 ppbv (+1 %) and 0.1 µg m 3 (+5 %) in June and July, with peak increases of over 2 ppbv (+3 %) and 0.5 µg m 3 (+8 %). That appreciable regional atmospheric impacts result from low level planting scenarios demon- strates the need to include changes in emissions of reactive trace gases such as isoprene in life cycle assessments per- formed on potential biofuel feedstocks.
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paper_title: Passage of Inhaled Particles Into the Blood Circulation in Humans

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Background — Pollution by particulates has been consistently associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. However, the mechanisms responsible for these effects are not well-elucidated. Methods and Results — To assess to what extent and how rapidly inhaled pollutant particles pass into the systemic circulation, we measured, in 5 healthy volunteers, the distribution of radioactivity after the inhalation of “Technegas,” an aerosol consisting mainly of ultrafine 99m Technetium-labeled carbon particles ( 99m Tc, ie, pertechnetate, there was also a species corresponding to particle-bound 99m Tc. Gamma camera images showed substantial radioactivity over the liver and other areas of the body. Conclusions — We conclude that inhaled 99m Tc-labeled ultrafine carbon particles pass rapidly into the systemic circulation, and this process could account for the well-established, but poorly understood, extrapulmonary effects of air pollution.
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paper_title: Lung Cancer, Cardiopulmonary Mortality, and Long-term Exposure to Fine Particulate Air Pollution

paper_content:

CONTEXT ::: Associations have been found between day-to-day particulate air pollution and increased risk of various adverse health outcomes, including cardiopulmonary mortality. However, studies of health effects of long-term particulate air pollution have been less conclusive. ::: ::: ::: OBJECTIVE ::: To assess the relationship between long-term exposure to fine particulate air pollution and all-cause, lung cancer, and cardiopulmonary mortality. ::: ::: ::: DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS ::: Vital status and cause of death data were collected by the American Cancer Society as part of the Cancer Prevention II study, an ongoing prospective mortality study, which enrolled approximately 1.2 million adults in 1982. Participants completed a questionnaire detailing individual risk factor data (age, sex, race, weight, height, smoking history, education, marital status, diet, alcohol consumption, and occupational exposures). The risk factor data for approximately 500 000 adults were linked with air pollution data for metropolitan areas throughout the United States and combined with vital status and cause of death data through December 31, 1998. ::: ::: ::: MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE ::: All-cause, lung cancer, and cardiopulmonary mortality. ::: ::: ::: RESULTS ::: Fine particulate and sulfur oxide--related pollution were associated with all-cause, lung cancer, and cardiopulmonary mortality. Each 10-microg/m(3) elevation in fine particulate air pollution was associated with approximately a 4%, 6%, and 8% increased risk of all-cause, cardiopulmonary, and lung cancer mortality, respectively. Measures of coarse particle fraction and total suspended particles were not consistently associated with mortality. ::: ::: ::: CONCLUSION ::: Long-term exposure to combustion-related fine particulate air pollution is an important environmental risk factor for cardiopulmonary and lung cancer mortality.
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paper_title: Volatile Organic Compounds in the Global Atmosphere

paper_content:

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) include saturated, unsaturated, and other substituted hydrocarbons. VOCs play an important role in the chemistry of the atmosphere by influencing ozone and hydroxyl radical (OH) concentrations, and the conversion rates of nitrogen oxides (NOx). Elevated levels of VOCs and NOx have led to an approximate doubling of ozone in the lower troposphere over the past couple of centuries, making tropospheric ozone the third most important anthropogenic greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane. Because of ozone's strong oxidizing properties, increases in tropospheric ozone are a concern for living systems on Earth. Ozone stresses and damages vegetation, resulting in a reduction of terrestrial CO2 sequestration. VOCs also serve as a source of atmospheric secondary organic aerosol (SOA), which influences the solar radiation budget and cloud droplet nucleation. Through these complex interactions, VOCs play an important role in air quality and climate.
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paper_title: Inter-community variability in total particle number concentrations in the eastern Los Angeles air basin

paper_content:

Abstract. Ultrafine Particles (UFP) can display sharp gradients in their number concentrations in urban environment due to their transient nature and rapid atmospheric processing. The ability of using air pollution data generated at a central monitoring station to assess exposure relies on our understanding of the spatial variability of a specific pollutant associated with a region. High spatial variation in the concentrations of air pollutants has been reported at scales of 10s of km for areas affected by primary emissions. Spatial variability in particle number concentrations (PNC) and size distributions needs to be investigated, as the representativeness of a monitoring station in a region is premised on the assumption of homogeneity in both of these metrics. This study was conducted at six sites, one in downtown Los Angeles and five located about 40–115 km downwind in the receptor areas of Los Angeles air basin. PNC and size distribution were measured using Condensation Particle Counters (CPC) and Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS). The seasonal and diurnal variations of PNC implied that PNC might vary significantly with meteorological conditions, even though the general patterns at the sites may remain generally similar across the year due to consistency of sources around them. Regionally transported particulate matter (PM) from upwind urban areas of Los Angeles lowered spatial variation by acting as a "homogenizing" factor during favorable meteorological conditions. Spatial variability also increased during hours of the day during which the effects of local sources predominate. The spatial variability associated with PNC (quantified using Coefficients of Divergence, CODs), averaged about 0.3, which was generally lower than that based on specific size ranges. Results showed an inverse relationship of COD with particles size, with fairly uniform values in the particle range which is associated with regional transport. Our results suggest that spatial variability, even in the receptor regions of Los Angeles Basin, should be assessed for both PNC and size distributions, and should be interpreted in context of seasonal and diurnal influences, and suitably factored if values for exposure are ascertained using a central monitoring station.
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paper_title: Locating industrial VOC sources with aircraft observations.

paper_content:

Observation and characterization of environmental pollution, focussing on Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), in a high-risk industrial area, are particularly important in order to provide indications on a safe level of exposure, indicate eventual priorities and advise on policy interventions. The aim of this study is to use the Solid Phase Micro Extraction (SPME) method to measure VOCs, directly coupled with atmospheric measurements taken on a small aircraft environmental platform, to evaluate and locate the presence of VOC emission sources in the Marghera industrial area. Lab analysis of collected SPME fibres and subsequent analysis of mass spectrum and chromatograms in Scan Mode allowed the detection of a wide range of VOCs. The combination of this information during the monitoring campaign allowed a model (Gaussian Plume) to be implemented that estimates the localization of emission sources on the ground.
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paper_title: Volatile organic compounds in air at urban and industrial areas in the Tarragona region by thermal desorption and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

paper_content:

Annual trends of a group of 66 volatile organic compounds (VOCs), containing 20 ozone precursors, were the aim of a sampling campaign carried out for a year in air at urban and industrial areas from Tarragona region. VOCs were determined by active collection on multisorbent tubes, followed by thermal desorption and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The analytical method was developed and validated, showing good levels of detection and quantification, recoveries, precision, and linearity for all the compounds in the range being studied. All the industrial and urban samples taken during the sampling campaign were similar in their qualitative composition. The most abundant compound in all urban and industrial sites was i-pentane, with concentrations between 15.2 and 202.1 microg m(-3) in urban sites and between 1.3 and 98.6 microg m(-3) in industrial sites. In urban sites, the following compounds in order of abundance were toluene, n-pentane, m,p-xylene, and o-xylene, with maximum levels of 150.6, 45.8, 42.3, and 31.7 microg m(-3), respectively. In industrial sites, the most abundant compounds depended on the sampled site.
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paper_title: Concentrations of submicrometre particles from vehicle emissions near a major road

paper_content:

Abstract As part of a program of study to assess the exposure risks related to particulate matter in the outdoor environment, number concentrations of particles from vehicle emissions were measured at increasing distances from a major road. Particles in the size range from 0.015 to 0.697 μm were measured with the scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) and in the size range from 0.5 to 20 μm, with the aerodynamic particle sizer (APS). In addition to number concentration measurements, an approximation of PM 2.5 fraction was obtained using a DustTrak (simple photometer). The measurements conducted at distances from the road ranging from 15 to 375 m showed, that for conditions where the wind is blowing directly from the road, the concentration of fine and ultrafine particles decays to around half of the maximum (measured at the closest point to the road) at a distance of approximately 100–150 m from the road. For the wind blowing parallel to the road, the reduction to half of the concentration occurs at 50–100 m. There is no effect on total particle number concentration at a distance greater than 15 m from the road when the wind is blowing towards the road and away from the sampling points. Total number concentrations of larger particles measured were not significantly higher than the average values for the urban environment, and decrease with distance from the road, reaching about 60% at 150 m from the road for wind from the road. PM 2.5 levels also decrease with distance to around 75% for wind from the road and to 65% for wind parallel to the road, at a distance of 375 m.
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paper_title: Determination of average emission factors for vehicles on a busy road

paper_content:

Abstract In this paper, the CALINE4 software package, designed for calculation of concentrations of carbon monoxide near a busy road, is adapted for the analysis of aerosols of fine and ultra-fine particles, generated by vehicles on the road. A scaling procedure of the CALINE4 package is developed and justified. A new efficient method of determination of the average emission factor for fine particle emission from the average fleet (one average vehicle) on a given road is also developed. This method is based on measurements of the average particle number concentration at just one point near the road. An example of a specific road in the Brisbane area, Australia, is considered. The average emission factor for vehicles on this road is calculated to be ∼4.5×1014 particle/vehicle/mile. The obtained scaling coefficient is shown to be correct, and the procedure is directly applicable for the analysis of an arbitrary road with different types of vehicles and their average speed. Good agreement between the experimental results and the predicted theoretical dependencies of concentration on distance from the road clearly confirms the applicability of the CALINE4 package for the analysis of propagation of fine particle aerosols from a busy road. Statistical analysis of the experimental and theoretical results demonstrates that the concentration of fine and ultra-fine particles approximately reduces as a power law in distance from the road.
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paper_title: Sampling and preconcentration techniques for determination of volatile organic compounds in air samples

paper_content:

Abstract Because air is complex and heterogeneous, continuously evolving in time and space and being influenced by atmospheric and geographical conditions, sampling is crucial in air analysis. Moreover, due to the low levels of pollutants present in the atmosphere, enrichment is often required. This review deals with the most common techniques for sampling and preconcentration of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in air samples (e.g., whole-air collection in containers, which is usually combined with preconcentration step, and solid-sorbent enrichment methods). We also describe solid sorbents used to trap VOCs in air, and subsequent desorption techniques. In recent years, there have been many efforts to improve on-line analysis methods, which offer real-time data and are useful in providing rapid results. We examine the application of sorbent trapping to on-line analysis and other techniques for on-line analysis (e.g., membrane extraction and selected-ion-flow-tube mass spectrometry).
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paper_title: Size resolved ultrafine particles emission model--a continues size distribution approach.

paper_content:

A new parameterization for size resolved ultrafine particles (UFP) traffic emissions is proposed based on the results of PARTICULATES project (Samaras et al., 2005). It includes the emission factors from the Emission Inventory Guidebook (2006) (total number of particles, #/km/veh), the shape of the corresponding particle size distribution given in PARTICULATES and data for the traffic activity. The output of the model UFPEM (UltraFine Particle Emission Model) is a sum of continuous distributions of ultrafine particles emissions per vehicle type (passenger cars and heavy duty vehicles), fuel (petrol and diesel) and average speed representative for urban, rural and highway driving. The results from the parameterization are compared with measured total number of ultrafine particles and size distributions in a tunnel in Antwerp (Belgium). The measured UFP concentration over the entire campaign shows a close relation to the traffic activity. The modelled concentration is found to be lower than the measured in the campaign. The average emission factor from the measurement is 4.29E+14 #/km/veh whereas the calculated is around 30% lower. A comparison of emission factors with literature is done as well and in overall a good agreement is found. For the size distributions it is found that the measured distributions consist of three modes--Nucleation, Aitken and accumulation and most of the ultrafine particles belong to the Nucleation and the Aitken modes. The modelled Aitken mode (peak around 0.04-0.05 μm) is found in a good agreement both as amplitude of the peak and the number of particles whereas the modelled Nucleation mode is shifted to smaller diameters and the peak is much lower that the observed. Time scale analysis shows that at 300 m in the tunnel coagulation and deposition are slow and therefore neglected. The UFPEM emission model can be used as a source term in dispersion models.
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paper_title: Measurements of ultrafine particles and other vehicular pollutants inside a mobile exposure system on Los Angeles freeways.

paper_content:

A mobile exposure and air pollution measurement system was developed and used for on-freeway ultrafine particle health effects studies. A nine-passenger van was modified with a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filtration system that can deliver filtered or unfiltered air to an exposure chamber inside the van. State-of-the-art instruments were used to measure concentration and size distribution of fine and ultrafine particles and the concentration of carbon monoxide (CO), black carbon (BC), particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), fine particulate matter (PM2.5) mass, and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) inside the exposure chamber. This paper presents the construction and technical details of the van and air pollutant concentrations collected in 32 2-hr runs on two major Los Angeles freeways, Interstate 405 (1-405; mostly gasoline traffic) and Interstate 710 (1-710; large proportion of heavy-duty diesel traffic). More than 97% of particles were removed when the flow through the filter box was switched from bypass mode to filter mode while the vehicle was driving on both freeways. The filtration system thus provides a great particulate matter exposure contrast while keeping gas-phase pollutant concentrations the same. Under bypass mode, average total particle number concentration observed inside the exposure chamber was around 8.4 x 10(4) and 1.3 x 10(5) particles cm(-3) on the I-405 and the I-710 freeways, respectively. Bimodal size distributions were consistent and similar for both freeways with the first mode around 16-20 nm and the second mode around 50-55 nm. BC and particle-bound PAH concentrations were more than two times greater on the I-710 than on the I-405 freeway. Very weak correlations were observed between total particle number concentrations and other vehicular pollutants on the freeways.
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paper_title: Autonomous Flight in Unknown Indoor Environments

paper_content:

This paper presents our solution for enabling a quadrotor helicopter, equipped with a laser rangefinder sensor, to autonomously explore and map unstructured and unknown indoor environments. While these capabilities are already commodities on ground vehicles, air vehicles seeking the same performance face unique challenges. In this paper, we describe the difficulties in achieving fully autonomous helicopter flight, highlighting the differences between ground and helicopter robots that make it difficult to use algorithms that have been developed for ground robots. We then provide an overview of our solution to the key problems, including a multilevel sensing and control hierarchy, a high-speed laser scan-matching algorithm, an EKF for data fusion, a high-level SLAM implementation, and an exploration planner. Finally, we show experimental results demonstrating the helicopter's ability to navigate accurately and autonomously in unknown environments.
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paper_title: Introduction to Unmanned Aircraft Systems

paper_content:

History, C. Jarnot Unmanned Aircraft System Elements, J. Brungardt U.S. Aviation Regulatory System, D.M. Marshall Certificate of Authorization Process, G. Witt and S.B. Hottman Unmanned Aircraft System Operations, T. Beneigh Unmanned Aircraft Systems for Geospatial Data, C.M. Steele and L.J. Elliott Automation and Autonomy in Unmanned Aircraft Systems, L.J. Elliott and B. Stewart Safety Assessments, E.J. Shappee Detect, Sense, and Avoid, L.J. Elliott, J.D. Schwark, and M.J. Rambert Sensors and Payloads, D.M. Marshall Human Factors in Unmanned Aircraft Systems, I. Dolgov and S.B. Hottman The Future of Unmanned Aircraft Systems, R.K. Barnhart Appendix Index
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paper_title: Unmanned Aircraft Systems in Remote Sensing and Scientific Research: Classification and Considerations of Use

paper_content:

Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) have evolved rapidly over the past decade driven primarily by military uses, and have begun finding application among civilian users for earth sensing reconnaissance and scientific data collection purposes. Among UAS, promising characteristics are long flight duration, improved mission safety, flight repeatability due to improving autopilots, and reduced operational costs when compared to manned aircraft. The potential advantages of an unmanned platform, however, depend on many factors, such as aircraft, sensor types, mission objectives, and the current UAS regulatory requirements for operations of the particular platform. The regulations concerning UAS operation are still in the early development stages and currently present significant barriers to entry for scientific users. In this article we describe a variety of platforms, as well as sensor capabilities, and identify advantages of each as relevant to the demands of users in the scientific research sector. We also briefly discuss the current state of regulations affecting UAS operations, with the purpose of informing the scientific community about this developing technology whose potential for revolutionizing natural science observations is similar to those transformations that GIS and GPS brought to the community two decades ago.
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paper_title: Autonomous Aerosondes for Economical Atmospheric Soundings Anywhere on the Globe

paper_content:

Abstract Considerable interest in the use of autonomous aircraft for atmospheric measurements in remote and hazardous areas world-wide has arisen over recent years. Their application in tropical cyclone reconnaissance is under study by the World Meteorological Organization and the International Council for Scientific Unions under the United Nations International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction. More diverse experiments, particularly for stratospheric operations, are being planned by agencies in the United States. The aerosonde can provide an economical and flexible element in these international initiatives. The concept is for a small aircraft (weighing less than 20 kg) with on-board meteorological sensors to provide radiosonde-quality observations at any location on the globe. Individual missions could span several thousand kilometers and several days’ duration, using the Global Positioning System for autonomous navigation, and satellite relay for data return and flight-plan updates. With a superch...
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paper_title: Autonomous Flight in Unknown Indoor Environments

paper_content:

This paper presents our solution for enabling a quadrotor helicopter, equipped with a laser rangefinder sensor, to autonomously explore and map unstructured and unknown indoor environments. While these capabilities are already commodities on ground vehicles, air vehicles seeking the same performance face unique challenges. In this paper, we describe the difficulties in achieving fully autonomous helicopter flight, highlighting the differences between ground and helicopter robots that make it difficult to use algorithms that have been developed for ground robots. We then provide an overview of our solution to the key problems, including a multilevel sensing and control hierarchy, a high-speed laser scan-matching algorithm, an EKF for data fusion, a high-level SLAM implementation, and an exploration planner. Finally, we show experimental results demonstrating the helicopter's ability to navigate accurately and autonomously in unknown environments.
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paper_title: Introduction to Unmanned Aircraft Systems

paper_content:

History, C. Jarnot Unmanned Aircraft System Elements, J. Brungardt U.S. Aviation Regulatory System, D.M. Marshall Certificate of Authorization Process, G. Witt and S.B. Hottman Unmanned Aircraft System Operations, T. Beneigh Unmanned Aircraft Systems for Geospatial Data, C.M. Steele and L.J. Elliott Automation and Autonomy in Unmanned Aircraft Systems, L.J. Elliott and B. Stewart Safety Assessments, E.J. Shappee Detect, Sense, and Avoid, L.J. Elliott, J.D. Schwark, and M.J. Rambert Sensors and Payloads, D.M. Marshall Human Factors in Unmanned Aircraft Systems, I. Dolgov and S.B. Hottman The Future of Unmanned Aircraft Systems, R.K. Barnhart Appendix Index
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paper_title: Analysis of capability of air pollution monitoring from an unmanned aircraft

paper_content:

Satellite monitoring systems can be used for remote monitoring of the atmosphere over a given area but they do not provide information on the state of pollution at a given time. Additional information could only be obtained after several days. Measurements from an aircraft may be obtained almost at real-time and in different geometries – vertical and horizontal. The future of this type of monitoring is remote-controlled unmanned aerial vehicles (airplanes, helicopters and balloons tethered), equipped with telemetric monitoring.
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paper_title: Unmanned Aircraft Systems in Remote Sensing and Scientific Research: Classification and Considerations of Use

paper_content:

Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) have evolved rapidly over the past decade driven primarily by military uses, and have begun finding application among civilian users for earth sensing reconnaissance and scientific data collection purposes. Among UAS, promising characteristics are long flight duration, improved mission safety, flight repeatability due to improving autopilots, and reduced operational costs when compared to manned aircraft. The potential advantages of an unmanned platform, however, depend on many factors, such as aircraft, sensor types, mission objectives, and the current UAS regulatory requirements for operations of the particular platform. The regulations concerning UAS operation are still in the early development stages and currently present significant barriers to entry for scientific users. In this article we describe a variety of platforms, as well as sensor capabilities, and identify advantages of each as relevant to the demands of users in the scientific research sector. We also briefly discuss the current state of regulations affecting UAS operations, with the purpose of informing the scientific community about this developing technology whose potential for revolutionizing natural science observations is similar to those transformations that GIS and GPS brought to the community two decades ago.
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paper_title: A blimp-based remote sensing system for low-altitude monitoring of plant variables: A preliminary experiment for agricultural and ecological applications

paper_content:

A blimp-based remote sensing system was developed for monitoring land surface variables from low altitudes. The blimp was a helium-filled envelope 23m long with a maximum diameter of 7m. The blimp was designed to cruise at a maximum speed of 40kmh-1 at altitudes between 30 and 400m, under radio control, with a payload of approximately 100kg. The radio-controlled data acquisition system consisted of four monochromatic CCD video cameras with interference filters. The ability of the blimp to hover allowed the collection of a continuous set of high-quality images. The spatial variability between and within agricultural fields was mapped at a fine spatial resolution. The blimp-based system proved to be suitable for low-altitude remote sensing of plant variables.
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paper_title: Detecting the attributes of a wheat crop using digital imagery acquired from a low-altitude platform

paper_content:

A low-altitude platform utilising a 1.8-m diameter tethered helium balloon was used to position a multispectral sensor, consisting of two digital cameras, above a fertiliser trial plot where wheat (Triticum spp.) was being grown. Located in Cecil Plains, Queensland, Australia, the plot was a long-term fertiliser trial being conducted by a fertiliser company to monitor the response of crops to various levels of nutrition. The different levels of nutrition were achieved by varying nitrogen application rates between 0 and 120 units of N at 40 unit increments. Each plot had received the same application rate for 10 years. Colour and near-infrared images were acquired that captured the whole 2ha plot. These images were examined and relationships sought between the captured digital information and the crop parameters imaged at anthesis and the at-harvest quality and quantity parameters. The statistical analysis techniques used were correlation analysis, discriminant analysis and partial least squares regression. A high correlation was found between the image and yield (R^2=0.91) and a moderate correlation between the image and grain protein content (R^2=0.66). The utility of the system could be extended by choosing a more mobile platform. This would increase the potential for the system to be used to diagnose the causes of the variability and allow remediation, and/or to segregate the crop at harvest to meet certain quality parameters.
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paper_title: The Small Unmanned Meteorological Observer SUMO: Recent developments and applications of a micro-UAS for atmospheric boundary layer research

paper_content:

During the last 5 years, the Small Unmanned Meteorological Observer SUMO has been developed as a flexible tool for atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) research to be operated as sounding system for the lowest 4 km of the atmosphere. Recently two main technical improvements have been accomplished. The integration of an inertial measurement unit (IMU) into the Paparazzi autopilot system has expanded the environmental conditions for SUMO operation. The implementation of a 5-hole probe for determining the 3D flow vector with 100 Hz resolution and a faster temperature sensor has enhanced the measurement capabilities.
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paper_title: FULL PAPER Gas source localization with a micro-drone using bio-inspired and particle filter-based algorithms

paper_content:

Gas source localization (GSL) with mobile robots is a challenging task due to the unpredictable nature of gas dispersion, the limitations of the currents sensing technologies, and the mobility constraints of ground-based robots. This work proposes an integral solution for the GSL task, including source declaration. We present a novel pseudo-gradient-based plume tracking algorithm and a particle filter-based source declaration approach, and apply it on a gas-sensitive micro-drone. We compare the performance of the proposed system in simulations and real-world experiments against two commonly used tracking algorithms adapted for aerial exploration missions.
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paper_title: Parachute recovery for UAV systems

paper_content:

Parachute recovery systems are described from a systems perspective. Parachute recovery is particularly suited to tactical fixed wing UAV systems that require a high degree of mobility by allowing air vehicle recovery onto unprepared terrain. The descent environment is described, and the impact of wind on recovery is considered. The relative merits of cruciform, round and parafoil canopies are assessed, taking three real‐world systems as design examples. Throughout, design considerations are approached from a systems perspective, with a view to producing safe, autonomous and accurate recovery systems.
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paper_title: Monitoring of gas pipelines - a civil UAV application

paper_content:

Purpose – It is in the interest of any gas company to maintain the value of its pipelines and to protect them effectively against damage caused by third parties. Aims to address this issue.Design/methodology/approach – As a result of global progress in high‐resolution remote sensing and image processing technology, it is now possible to design natural gas pipeline monitoring systems with remote sensors and context‐oriented image processing software.Findings – Recent developments in UAV technology show that UAVs provide the appropriate platforms for a remote sensing‐based inspection system: appropriate small and medium size UAV have been developed, their operation is technically feasible in an controlled as well as in uncontrolled airspace.Research limitations/implications – The data and information processing system still has to be developed to an operational standard. A total operational system consisting of UAV platform, sensors, data processing and alarm detection has to be demonstrated in a complete m...
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paper_title: Sense and Avoid Requirements for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Using a Target Level of Safety Approach

paper_content:

One of the most critical challenges to full integration of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into the National Airspace System (NAS) is the requirement to comply with CFR 14 Part 91.113 to "see and avoid" other aircraft. Various attempts have been made to develop systems to "sense and avoid" other aircraft so UAS can comply with the intent of the regulation. This article proposes a framework to develop effectiveness requirements for any SAA system by linking UAS characteristics and operating environments to midair collision risk quantified by a fatality rate. The framework consists of a target level of safety (TLS) approach using an event tree format. Safety has been identified as the most important consideration in the UAS integration process. While safety can be defined in many ways, the authors propose using a fatality rate metric that follows other statistics used in the industry. This metric allows for the use of a TLS approach to the development of SAA requirements for system certification. Failure to adequately link system requirements to safety could result in the implementation of SAA systems that either do not adequately mitigate the risk associated with UAS operations or are overdesigned, resulting in increased cost and complexity. This article demonstrates the use of the proposed framework to develop specific SAA effectiveness standards based on UAS weight and airspace class combinations.
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paper_title: Overview of Australian Civil UAS Regulations and Supporting Research

paper_content:

This presentation provides a review of current civil unmanned aircraft system operations and applications, the operational environment and aviation safety regulations in Australia. A summary of current regulatory reform efforts is also provided. The presentation includes new and existing research programs established to address the technical and social issues facing the unmanned aircraft systems industry and aid the regulatory reform process.
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paper_title: Handbook of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

paper_content:

The Handbook of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles is a reference text for the academic and research communities, industry, manufacturers, users, practitioners, Federal Government, Federal and State Agencies, the private sector, as well as all organizations that are and will be using unmanned aircraft in a wide spectrum of applications. The Handbook covers all aspects of UAVs, from design to logistics and ethical issues. It is also targeting the young investigator, the future inventor and entrepreneur by providing an overview and detailed information of the state-of-the-art as well as useful new concepts that may lead to innovative research. The contents of the Handbook include material that addresses the needs and know how of all of the above sectors targeting a very diverse audience.The Handbook offers a unique and comprehensive treatise of everything one needs to know about unmanned aircrafts, from conception to operation, from technologies to business activities, users, OEMs, reference sources, conferences, publications, professional societies, etc. It should serve as a Thesaurus, an indispensable part of the library for everyone involved in this area. For the first time, contributions by the worlds top experts from academia, industry, government and the private sector, are brought together to provide unique perspectives on the current state-of-the-art in UAV, as well as future directions. The Handbook is intended for the expert/practitioner who seeks specific technical/business information, for the technically-oriented scientists and engineers, but also for the novice who wants to learn more about the status of UAV and UAV-related technologies.The Handbook is arranged in a user-friendly format, divided into main parts referring to: UAV Design Principles; UAV Fundamentals; UAV Sensors and Sensing Strategies; UAV Propulsion; UAV Control; UAV Communication Issues; UAV Architectures; UAV Health Management Issues; UAV Modeling, Simulation, Estimation and Identification; MAVs and Bio-Inspired UAVs; UAV Mission and Path Planning; UAV Autonomy; UAV Sense, Detect and Avoid Systems; Networked UAVs and UAV Swarms; UAV Integration into the National Airspace; UAV-Human Interfaces and Decision Support Systems; Human Factors and Training; UAV Logistics Support; UAV Applications; Social and Ethical Implications; The Future of UAVs. Each part is written by internationally renowned authors who are authorities in their respective fields.The contents of the Handbook supports its unique character as a thorough and comprehensive reference book directed to a diverse audience of technologists, businesses, users and potential users, managers and decision makers, novices and experts, who seek a holistic volume of information that is not only a technical treatise but also a source for answers to several questions on UAV manufacturers, users, major players in UAV research, costs, training required and logistics issues.
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paper_title: Albedo, atmospheric solar absorption and heating rate measurements with stacked UAVs

paper_content:

This paper reports unique measurements of albedo, atmospheric solar absorption, and heating rates in the visible (0.4 to 0.7 µm) and broadband (0.3 to 2.8 µm) spectral regions using vertically stacked multiple lightweight autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The most significant finding of this study is that when absorbing aerosols and water vapour concentrations are measured accurately and accounted for in models, and when heating rates are measured directly with stacked aircraft, the simulated clear sky heating rates are consistent with the observed broadband heating rates within experimental errors (about 15%). We conclude that there is no need to invoke anomalous or excess absorption or unknown physics in clear skies. ::: ::: ::: ::: Aerosol–radiation–cloud measurements were made over the tropical Indian Ocean within the lowest 3 km of the atmosphere during the Maldives Autonomous UAV Campaign (MAC). The UAVs and ground-based remote sensing instruments determined most of the parameters required for calculating the albedo and vertical distribution of solar fluxes. The paper provides a refined analytical procedure to reduce errors and biases due to the offset errors arising from mounting of the radiometers on the aircraft and due to the aircraft attitude. Measured fluxes have been compared with those derived from a Monte-Carlo radiative transfer algorithm which can incorporate both gaseous and aerosol components. Under cloud-free conditions the calculated and measured incoming fluxes agree within 2–10 W m−2 (<1%) depending upon the altitudes. Similarly, the measured and calculated reflected fluxes agreed within 2–5 W m−2 (<5%). ::: ::: ::: ::: The analysis focuses on a cloud-free day when the air was polluted due to long-range transport from India, and the mean aerosol optical depth (AOD) was 0.31 and mean single scattering albedo was 0.92. The UAV-measured absorption AOD was 0.019 which agreed within 20% of the value of 0.024 reported by a ground-based instrument. The observed and simulated solar absorption agreed within 5% above 1.0 km and aerosol absorption accounted for 30% to 50% of the absorption depending upon the altitude and solar zenith angle. Thus there was no need to invoke spurious or anomalous absorption, provided we accounted for aerosol black carbon. The diurnal mean absorption values for altitudes between 0.5 and 3.0 km above mean sea level were observed to be 41 ± 3 W m−2 (1.5 K/day) in the broadband region and 8 ± 2 W m−2 (0.3 K/day) in the visible region. The contribution of absorbing aerosols to the heating rate was an order of magnitude larger than the contribution of CO2 and one-third that of the water vapour. In the lowest 3 km of the tropical atmosphere, aerosols accounted for more than 80% of the atmospheric absorption in the visible region. Copyright © 2007 Royal Meteorological Society
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paper_title: A Lightweight Observation System for Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Concentration Using a Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

paper_content:

Abstract To make the investigation of the temporal and spatial variations of atmospheric CO2 in and above the planetary boundary layer more flexible and economical, a lightweight observation system using a small unmanned aerial vehicle has been developed whose flight path is preset using GPS. The total weight of the CO2 measurement device carried inside the vehicle is about 3.5 kg. The device is equipped with both flow and pressure controllers and can be used to measure atmospheric CO2 from the ground surface to a maximum altitude of about 3000 m. The response time of the instrument is about 20 s, with a precision of about ±0.26 ppm. The observation system is easy to handle and can be easily and quickly deployed at a site to make frequent measurements in and above the boundary layer. Compared to the deployment of a piloted aircraft the system shows distinctive advantages, in addition to being more affordable. To test the system, preliminary measurements over a boreal forest area in Japan in the summer of ...
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paper_title: Atmospheric profiling with the UAS SUMO: a new perspective for the evaluation of fine-scale atmospheric models

paper_content:

For the first time, unmanned aerial system measurements collected by the small unmanned meteorological observer (SUMO) are used to evaluate atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) parameterization schemes embedded in the Advanced Weather Research and Forecasting model (AR-WRF). Observation sites were located in the vicinity of the almost idealized shaped mountain Hofsjokull, Central Iceland. SUMO profiles provided temperature, relative humidity and wind data to maximum heights of 3 km above ground. Two cases are investigated, one with calm wind conditions and development of a convective ABL and one with moderate winds and gravity waves over Hofsjokull. For the high-resolution simulation with AR-WRF, three two-way nested domains are chosen with a grid size of 9, 3 and 1 km. During its first meteorological test, SUMO has proved its great value for the investigation of the diurnal evolution of the ABL and the identification of mesoscale features residing above the ABL, such as subsidence.
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paper_title: The Small Unmanned Meteorological Observer SUMO: Recent developments and applications of a micro-UAS for atmospheric boundary layer research

paper_content:

During the last 5 years, the Small Unmanned Meteorological Observer SUMO has been developed as a flexible tool for atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) research to be operated as sounding system for the lowest 4 km of the atmosphere. Recently two main technical improvements have been accomplished. The integration of an inertial measurement unit (IMU) into the Paparazzi autopilot system has expanded the environmental conditions for SUMO operation. The implementation of a 5-hole probe for determining the 3D flow vector with 100 Hz resolution and a faster temperature sensor has enhanced the measurement capabilities.
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paper_title: The Small Unmanned Meteorological Observer SUMO: A new tool for atmospheric boundary layer research

paper_content:

The Small Unmanned Meteorological Observer SUMO has been developed as a cost-efficient measurement system with the aim to close the existing observational gap of atmospheric measurement systems in between meteorological masts/towers and radiosondes. The system is highly flexible and has the capability for insitu ABL measurements with unique spatial and temporal resolution. SUMO is based on a light-weighted styrofoam model airplane, equipped with an autopilot system for autonomous flight missions and in its recent version with meteorological sensors for temperature, humidity and pressure. With its wingspan of 80 cm, its length of 75 cm and a total lift-off weight of 580 g, SUMO is easy to transport and operate even in remote areas with limited infrastructure. During several field campaigns in 2007 and 2008 the system has been successfully tested and operated. Atmospheric profiles of temperature, humidity, wind speed and wind direction have been determined up to 3500 m above ground during the FLOHOF (FLOw over and around HOFsjokull) field campaign in Central Iceland in July/August 2007. During a 3 week campaign on and around Spitsbergen in February/March 2008 the SUMO system also proved its functionality under polar conditions, reaching altitudes above 1500 m even at ground temperatures of -20°C and wind speeds up to 15 m s -1 .
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paper_title: Meteorological profiling of the lower troposphere using the research UAV "M2AV Carolo"

paper_content:

Abstract. Vertical profiles of temperature, humidity and wind up to a height of 1500 m a.g.l. (above ground level) were measured with the automatically operating small unmanned research aircraft M2AV (Meteorological Mini Aerial Vehicle) during the LITFASS-2009 LI ndenberg- T o- F alkenberg: A ircraft, S cintillometer and large-eddy S imulation) experiment. The campaign took place in July 2009 over the heterogeneous landscape around the Meteorological Observatory Lindenberg – Richard-Asmann-Observatory in the eastern part of Germany. Due to a high vertical resolution of about 10 cm the M2AV data show details of the turbulent structure of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). One profile took about 10–15 min allowing for a continuous monitoring of certain phases of ABL development by successive ascents and descents during one flight (50–60 min duration). Two case studies of measurements performed during the morning and evening ABL transition periods are discussed in detail. Comparison of the aircraft-based temperature, humidity and wind profiles with tower, sodar/RASS, wind profiler/RASS, radiosoundings and microwave radiometer profiler measurements show good agreement taking into account the different sampling strategies of these measurement systems.
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paper_title: Measuring the Wind Vector Using the Autonomous Mini Aerial Vehicle M2AV

paper_content:

The meteorological mini unmanned aerial vehicle (M 2 AV) was used for measuring the meteorological wind. The wind is the vector difference between the aircraft speed relative to the earth (inertial velocity) and relative to the airflow (true airspeed). The latter was computed from five-hole-probe pressure measurements in combination with calibration–coefficient polynomials obtained during wind tunnel calibration. The aircraft inertial velocity, position, and attitude were calculated using a Kalman filter that combined data from a global positioning system (GPS) and an inertial navigation system (INS). The temporal (and spatial) resolution of the M 2 AV wind measurement is remarkably fine. An inertial subrange of locally isotropic turbulence can be measured up to 40 Hz (or 0.55 m at 22 m s �1 airspeed). The first M 2 AV wind estimation showed some systematic deviations compared to the expected values (like a constant mean wind in every flight direction). Therefore, an in-flight wind calibration technique was developed that corrects for the inaccuracy of the true heading, the constant offset of the pitch angle, and the underestimation of the true airspeed. The final adjusted wind measurements were verified during a field experiment at the measurement field of the German Meteorological Service, southeast of Berlin. The mean horizontal and vertical wind measured by the M 2 AV agreed well with simultaneous sodar and tower measurements.
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paper_title: Near-Field Characterization of Methane Emission Variability from a Compressor Station Using a Model Aircraft.

paper_content:

A model aircraft equipped with a custom laser-based, open-path methane sensor was deployed around a natural gas compressor station to quantify the methane leak rate and its variability at a compressor station in the Barnett Shale. The open-path, laser-based sensor provides fast (10 Hz) and precise (0.1 ppmv) measurements of methane in a compact package while the remote control aircraft provides nimble and safe operation around a local source. Emission rates were measured from 22 flights over a one-week period. Mean emission rates of 14 ± 8 g CH4 s(-1) (7.4 ± 4.2 g CH4 s(-1) median) from the station were observed or approximately 0.02% of the station throughput. Significant variability in emission rates (0.3-73 g CH4 s(-1) range) was observed on time scales of hours to days, and plumes showed high spatial variability in the horizontal and vertical dimensions. Given the high spatiotemporal variability of emissions, individual measurements taken over short durations and from ground-based platforms should be used with caution when examining compressor station emissions. More generally, our results demonstrate the unique advantages and challenges of platforms like small unmanned aerial vehicles for quantifying local emission sources to the atmosphere.
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paper_title: Albedo, atmospheric solar absorption and heating rate measurements with stacked UAVs

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This paper reports unique measurements of albedo, atmospheric solar absorption, and heating rates in the visible (0.4 to 0.7 µm) and broadband (0.3 to 2.8 µm) spectral regions using vertically stacked multiple lightweight autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The most significant finding of this study is that when absorbing aerosols and water vapour concentrations are measured accurately and accounted for in models, and when heating rates are measured directly with stacked aircraft, the simulated clear sky heating rates are consistent with the observed broadband heating rates within experimental errors (about 15%). We conclude that there is no need to invoke anomalous or excess absorption or unknown physics in clear skies. ::: ::: ::: ::: Aerosol–radiation–cloud measurements were made over the tropical Indian Ocean within the lowest 3 km of the atmosphere during the Maldives Autonomous UAV Campaign (MAC). The UAVs and ground-based remote sensing instruments determined most of the parameters required for calculating the albedo and vertical distribution of solar fluxes. The paper provides a refined analytical procedure to reduce errors and biases due to the offset errors arising from mounting of the radiometers on the aircraft and due to the aircraft attitude. Measured fluxes have been compared with those derived from a Monte-Carlo radiative transfer algorithm which can incorporate both gaseous and aerosol components. Under cloud-free conditions the calculated and measured incoming fluxes agree within 2–10 W m−2 (<1%) depending upon the altitudes. Similarly, the measured and calculated reflected fluxes agreed within 2–5 W m−2 (<5%). ::: ::: ::: ::: The analysis focuses on a cloud-free day when the air was polluted due to long-range transport from India, and the mean aerosol optical depth (AOD) was 0.31 and mean single scattering albedo was 0.92. The UAV-measured absorption AOD was 0.019 which agreed within 20% of the value of 0.024 reported by a ground-based instrument. The observed and simulated solar absorption agreed within 5% above 1.0 km and aerosol absorption accounted for 30% to 50% of the absorption depending upon the altitude and solar zenith angle. Thus there was no need to invoke spurious or anomalous absorption, provided we accounted for aerosol black carbon. The diurnal mean absorption values for altitudes between 0.5 and 3.0 km above mean sea level were observed to be 41 ± 3 W m−2 (1.5 K/day) in the broadband region and 8 ± 2 W m−2 (0.3 K/day) in the visible region. The contribution of absorbing aerosols to the heating rate was an order of magnitude larger than the contribution of CO2 and one-third that of the water vapour. In the lowest 3 km of the tropical atmosphere, aerosols accounted for more than 80% of the atmospheric absorption in the visible region. Copyright © 2007 Royal Meteorological Society
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paper_title: ALADINA – an unmanned research aircraft for observing vertical and horizontal distributions of ultrafine particles within the atmospheric boundary layer

paper_content:

Abstract. This paper presents the unmanned research aircraft Carolo P360 "ALADINA" (Application of Light-weight Aircraft for Detecting IN situ Aerosol) for investigating the horizontal and vertical distribution of ultrafine particles in the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). It has a wingspan of 3.6 m, a maximum take-off weight of 25 kg and is equipped with aerosol instrumentation and meteorological sensors. A first application of the system, together with the unmanned research aircraft MASC (Multi-Purpose Airborne Carrier) of the Eberhard Karls University of Tubingen (EKUT), is described. As small payload for ALADINA, two condensation particle counters (CPC) and one optical particle counter (OPC) were miniaturised by re-arranging the vital parts and composing them in a space-saving way in the front compartment of the airframe. The CPCs are improved concerning the lower detection threshold and the response time to less than 1.3 s. Each system was characterised in the laboratory and calibrated with test aerosols. The CPCs are operated in this study with two different lower detection threshold diameters of 11 and 18 nm. The amount of ultrafine particles, which is an indicator for new particle formation, is derived from the difference in number concentrations of the two CPCs (ΔN). Turbulence and thermodynamic structure of the boundary layer are described by measurements of fast meteorological sensors that are mounted at the aircraft nose. A first demonstration of ALADINA and a feasibility study were conducted in Melpitz near Leipzig, Germany, at the Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) station of the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS) on 2 days in October 2013. There, various ground-based instruments are installed for long-term atmospheric monitoring. The ground-based infrastructure provides valuable additional background information to embed the flights in the continuous atmospheric context and is used for validation of the airborne results. The development of the boundary layer, derived from backscatter signals of a portable Raman lidar POLLYXT, allows a quick overview of the current vertical structure of atmospheric particles. Ground-based aerosol number concentrations are consistent with the results from flights in heights of a few metres. In addition, a direct comparison of ALADINA aerosol data and ground-based aerosol data, sampling the air at the same location for more than 1 h, shows comparable values within the range of ± 20 %. MASC was operated simultaneously with complementary flight patterns. It is equipped with the same meteorological instruments that offer the possibility to determine turbulent fluxes. Therefore, additional information about meteorological conditions was collected in the lowest part of the atmosphere. Vertical profiles up to 1000 m in altitude indicate a high variability with distinct layers of aerosol, especially for the small particles of a few nanometres in diameter on 1 particular day. The stratification was almost neutral and two significant aerosol layers were detected with total aerosol number concentrations up to 17 000 ± 3400 cm−3 between 180 and 220 m altitude and 14 000 ± 2800 cm−3 between 550 and 650 m. Apart from those layers, the aerosol distribution was well mixed and reached the total number concentration of less than 8000 ± 1600 cm−3. During another day, the distribution of the small particles in the lowermost ABL was related to the stratification, with continuously decreasing number concentrations from 16 000 ± 3200 cm−3 to a minimum of 4000 ± 800 cm−3 at the top of the inversion at 320 m. Above this, the total number concentration was rather constant. In the region of 500 to 600 m altitude, a significant difference of both CPCs was observed. This event occurred during the boundary layer development in the morning and represents a particle burst within the ABL.
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paper_title: Warming trends in Asia amplified by brown cloud solar absorption

paper_content:

By 2001, it was realized that the thick brown haze discovered over the Arabian Sea during the Indian Ocean Experiment (INDOEX: 1997-1999) was a persistent dry-season feature above Southern Asia. A UNEP report in 2002 raised concerns of major climate disruption if the sources of the haze, including biomass burning, were not controlled. NASA's TERRA satellite has since detected similar atmospheric brown clouds (ABCs) elsewhere. Atmospheric solar heating and surface dimming due to ABCs both drive climate change, and to quantify that change we need direct measurements like the two datasets presented this week. First, three stacked, autonomous, unmanned aircraft measured solar heating above the Indian Ocean. Second, the CALIPSO satellite tracked a 3-km-thick haze from the Indian Ocean to the Himalayas. Climate modelling with the data suggests that ABC-induced atmospheric warming resembles that induced by greenhouse gases, a possible explanation for Himalayan glacier retreat. Measurement of aerosol concentrations, soot amount and solar fluxes over the polluted Indian Ocean using three vertically stacked light weight unmanned aerial vehicles finds that atmospheric brown clouds enhance lower atmospheric solar heating by about 50 per cent. A model study also suggests that atmospheric brown clouds contribute as much as the recent increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gases to regional lower atmospheric warming trends. Atmospheric brown clouds are mostly the result of biomass burning and fossil fuel consumption1. They consist of a mixture of light-absorbing and light-scattering aerosols1 and therefore contribute to atmospheric solar heating and surface cooling. The sum of the two climate forcing terms—the net aerosol forcing effect—is thought to be negative and may have masked as much as half of the global warming attributed to the recent rapid rise in greenhouse gases2. There is, however, at least a fourfold uncertainty2 in the aerosol forcing effect. Atmospheric solar heating is a significant source of the uncertainty, because current estimates are largely derived from model studies. Here we use three lightweight unmanned aerial vehicles that were vertically stacked between 0.5 and 3 km over the polluted Indian Ocean. These unmanned aerial vehicles deployed miniaturized instruments measuring aerosol concentrations, soot amount and solar fluxes. During 18 flight missions the three unmanned aerial vehicles were flown with a horizontal separation of tens of metres or less and a temporal separation of less than ten seconds, which made it possible to measure the atmospheric solar heating rates directly. We found that atmospheric brown clouds enhanced lower atmospheric solar heating by about 50 per cent. Our general circulation model simulations, which take into account the recently observed widespread occurrence of vertically extended atmospheric brown clouds over the Indian Ocean and Asia3, suggest that atmospheric brown clouds contribute as much as the recent increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gases to regional lower atmospheric warming trends. We propose that the combined warming trend of 0.25 K per decade may be sufficient to account for the observed retreat of the Himalayan glaciers4,5,6.
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paper_title: Theoretical Investigations on Mapping Mean Distributions of Particulate Matter, Inert, Reactive, and Secondary Pollutants from Wildfires by Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs)

paper_content:

Evaluated Weather Research and Forecasting model inline with chemistry (WRF/Chem) simulations of the 2009 Crazy Mountain Complex wildfire in Interior Alaska served as a testbed for typical Alaska wildfire-smoke conditions. A virtual unmanned air vehicle (UAV) sampled temperatures, dewpoint temperatures, primary inert and reactive gases and particular matter of different sizes as well as secondary pollutants from the WRF/Chem results using different sampling patterns, altitudes and speeds to investigate the impact of the sampling design on obtained mean distributions. In this experimental design, the WRF/Chem data served as the “grand truth” to assess the mean distributions from sampling. During frontal passage, the obtained mean distributions were sensitive to the flight patterns, speeds and heights. For inert constituents mean distributions from sampling agreed with the “grand truth” within a factor of two at 1000 m. Mean distributions of gases involved in photochemistry differed among flight patterns except for ozone. The diurnal cycle of these gases’ concentrations led to overestimation (underestimation) of 20 h means in areas of high (low) concentrations as compared to the “grand truth.” The mean ozone distribution was sensitive to the speed of the virtual UAV. Particulate matter showed the strongest sensitivity to the flight patterns, especially during precipitation.
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paper_title: Using Remote Control Aerial Vehicles to Study Variability of Airborne Particulates

paper_content:

Airborne particulates play a significant role in the atmospheric radiative balance and impact human health. To characterize this impact, global-scale observations and data products are needed. Satellite products allow for this global coverage but require in situ validations. This study used a remote-controlled aerial vehicle to look at the horizontal, vertical, and temporal variability of airborne particulates within the first 150 m of the atmosphere. Four flights were conducted on December 4, 2014, between 12:00 pm and 5:00 pm local time. The first three flights flew a pattern of increasing altitude up to 140 m. The fourth flight was conducted at a near-constant altitude of 60 m. The mean PM₂.₅ concentration for the three flights with varying altitude was 36.3 μg/m³, with the highest concentration occurring below 10 m altitude. The overall vertical variation was very small with a standard deviation of only 3.6 μg/m³. PM₂.₅ concentration also did not change much throughout the day with mean concentrations for the altitude-varying flights of 35.1, 37.2, and 36.8 μg/m³. The fourth flight, flown at a near-constant altitude, had a lower concentration of 23.5 μg/m³.
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paper_title: Characterization of a Quadrotor Unmanned Aircraft System for Aerosol-Particle-Concentration Measurements

paper_content:

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 comp...
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paper_title: Measurements of atmospheric aerosol vertical distributions above Svalbard, Norway, using unmanned aerial systems (UAS)

paper_content:

Abstract. Atmospheric aerosol vertical distributions were measured above Svalbard, Norway, in April 2011 during the Cooperative Investigation of Climate-Cryosphere Interactions campaign (CICCI). Measurements were made of the particle number concentration and the aerosol light absorption coefficient at three wavelengths. A filter sample was collected on each flight at the altitude of maximum particle number concentration. The filters were analyzed for major anions and cations. The aerosol payload was flown in a NOAA/PMEL MANTA Unmanned Aerial System (UAS). A total of 18 flights were flown during the campaign totaling 38 flight hours. The data show frequent aerosol layers aloft with high particle number concentration (1000 cm−3) and enhanced aerosol light absorption (1 Mm−1). Air mass histories of these aerosol layers were assessed using FLEXPART particle dispersion modeling. The data contribute to an assessment of sources of BC to the Arctic and potential climate impacts.
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paper_title: Atmospheric profiling with the UAS SUMO: a new perspective for the evaluation of fine-scale atmospheric models

paper_content:

For the first time, unmanned aerial system measurements collected by the small unmanned meteorological observer (SUMO) are used to evaluate atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) parameterization schemes embedded in the Advanced Weather Research and Forecasting model (AR-WRF). Observation sites were located in the vicinity of the almost idealized shaped mountain Hofsjokull, Central Iceland. SUMO profiles provided temperature, relative humidity and wind data to maximum heights of 3 km above ground. Two cases are investigated, one with calm wind conditions and development of a convective ABL and one with moderate winds and gravity waves over Hofsjokull. For the high-resolution simulation with AR-WRF, three two-way nested domains are chosen with a grid size of 9, 3 and 1 km. During its first meteorological test, SUMO has proved its great value for the investigation of the diurnal evolution of the ABL and the identification of mesoscale features residing above the ABL, such as subsidence.
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paper_title: High-Resolution Atmospheric Sensing of Multiple Atmospheric Variables Using the DataHawk Small Airborne Measurement System

paper_content:

AbstractThe DataHawk small airborne measurement system provides in situ atmospheric measurement capabilities for documenting scales as small as 1 m and can access reasonably large volumes in and above the atmospheric boundary layer at low cost. The design of the DataHawk system is described, beginning with the atmospheric measurement requirements, and articulating five key challenges that any practical measurement system must overcome. The resulting characteristics of the airborne and ground support components of the DataHawk system are outlined, along with its deployment, operating, and recovery modes. Typical results are presented to illustrate the types and quality of data provided by the current system, as well as the need for more of these finescale measurements. Particular focus is given to the DataHawk's ability to make very-high-resolution measurements of a variety of atmospheric variables simultaneously, with emphasis given to the measurement of two important finescale turbulence parameters, (the...
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paper_title: Gas-Drone: Portable gas sensing system on UAVs for gas leakage localization

paper_content:

Volatile chemical concentration and gas leakage recognition can be crucial in environmental monitoring for risk assessment. The use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to measure spatially distributed gas concentration is of great interest because it allows a Simultaneous Localization And Mapping (SLAM) of the volatiles. This field is quite recent and, so far, few efforts have been dedicated to the design of integrated sensing instruments that focus on the optimization of crucial features as weight, dimension and energy autonomy, as important as selectivity and sensitivity of sensors on board UAVs. The proposed Gas Sensing System (GSS) is a fully autonomous board based on a 32bit MCU with 30min autonomy (on its own battery), data storing, wireless connectivity for real-time feedback and embeds a custom micro-machined MOX (Metal Oxide) sensor. This system can be mounted on any UAV thanks to its small dimensions and light weight. Experiments demonstrate that the sensing performance is not impaired by the air flow during the flight and we are able to spatially describe the volatile concentration.
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paper_title: Measurement of boundary layer ozone concentrations on-board a Skywalker unmanned aerial vehicle

paper_content:

This study demonstrates novel measurements of in situ ozone (O3) concentrations and thermodynamics sampled on-board an instrumented Skywalker Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). Small spatial and temporal gradients were observed over a localized region, which nearby ground-based in situ measurements lack the ability to resolve. It was found that the UAV-measured O3 concentrations provided a useful additional indicator of O3 variability at the sub-urban scale. The ability to sample subtle variability over a localized area highlights the important and novel capabilities of UAVs to rapidly characterize local area micrometeorology and chemistry.
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paper_title: A Lightweight Observation System for Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Concentration Using a Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

paper_content:

Abstract To make the investigation of the temporal and spatial variations of atmospheric CO2 in and above the planetary boundary layer more flexible and economical, a lightweight observation system using a small unmanned aerial vehicle has been developed whose flight path is preset using GPS. The total weight of the CO2 measurement device carried inside the vehicle is about 3.5 kg. The device is equipped with both flow and pressure controllers and can be used to measure atmospheric CO2 from the ground surface to a maximum altitude of about 3000 m. The response time of the instrument is about 20 s, with a precision of about ±0.26 ppm. The observation system is easy to handle and can be easily and quickly deployed at a site to make frequent measurements in and above the boundary layer. Compared to the deployment of a piloted aircraft the system shows distinctive advantages, in addition to being more affordable. To test the system, preliminary measurements over a boreal forest area in Japan in the summer of ...
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paper_title: The NASA SIERRA science demonstration programme and the role of small-medium unmanned aircraft for earth science investigations

paper_content:

Earth scientists use unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to enable measurements and observations that cannot be collected by manned aircraft such as the ER-2, DC-8 or B-200. Science community interest in UAVs to date has largely been focused on the larger class of UAV such as the Global Hawk and Predator, because of the large mass of legacy airborne science instruments. With the continued miniaturization of instruments and data systems and the rapid pace of development of all classes of UAV world-wide during the past decade, smaller classes of UAV are now capable of providing important science measurements and observations. Small ( 500 lbs GTOW) complement the larger platforms by enabling in situ measurements of the atmospheric boundary layer with low-altitude remote sensing or air sampling, while providing a relatively low cost platform for storm penetration and dangerous, remote missions where the system may not return. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (N...
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paper_title: Design and flight testing of an integrated solar powered UAV and WSN for remote gas sensing

paper_content:

This paper describes a generic and integrated solar powered remote Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAV) and Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) gas sensing system. The system uses a generic gas sensing system for CH 4 and CO 2 concentrations using metal oxide (MoX) and non-dispersive infrared sensors, and a new solar cell encapsulation method to power the UASs as well as a data management platform to store, analyse and share the information with operators and external users. The system was successfully field tested at ground and low altitudes, collecting, storing and transmitting data in real time to a central node for analysis and 3D mapping. The system can be used in a wide range of outdoor applications, especially in agriculture, bushfires, mining studies, opening the way to a ubiquitous low cost environmental monitoring. A video of the bench and flight test performed can be seen in the following link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bwas7stYIxQ.
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paper_title: Greenhouse gas analyzer for measurements of carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapor aboard an unmanned aerial vehicle

paper_content:

Abstract A compact, lightweight atmospheric gas analyzer has been integrated into and flown on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Sensor Integrated Environmental Remote Research Aircraft (SIERRA) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and deployed to make highly accurate, 1 Hz measurements of methane, carbon dioxide, and water vapor. The analyzer was used to measure gas concentrations in flight and to demonstrate the system for providing measurements at altitudes as low as 10 m and in remote locations. The first flights were conducted at Crows Landing, CA, an agricultural site, with H 2 O concentrations showing distinct structure and sharp features that were well outside of the measurement noise. The instrument was then deployed in Svalbard, Norway prior to the NASA Characterization of Arctic Sea Ice Experiment (CASIE). During the Svalbard flight, there was minimal variation in the CO 2 and CH 4 concentrations, but the water concentration changed dramatically, oscillating as the aircraft moved repeatedly through its racetrack shaped flight pattern. The regions of high water concentration corresponded to low-lying areas which collect runoff from the nearby Vestre Broggerbreen glacier. This novel, integrated instrument-aircraft system allows more numerous and efficient measurements of carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapor concentrations at low-altitudes and in remote or dangerous locations.
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paper_title: A comparative risk assessment of burden of disease and injury attributable to 67 risk factors and risk factor clusters in 21 regions, 1990–2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010

paper_content:

PMC Free-text ::: ::: BACKGROUND ::: ::: Quantification of the disease burden caused by different risks informs prevention by providing an account of health loss different to that provided by a disease-by-disease analysis. No complete revision of global disease burden caused by risk factors has been done since a comparative risk assessment in 2000, and no previous analysis has assessed changes in burden attributable to risk factors over time. ::: ::: METHODS ::: ::: We estimated deaths and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs; sum of years lived with disability [YLD] and years of life lost [YLL]) attributable to the independent effects of 67 risk factors and clusters of risk factors for 21 regions in 1990 and 2010. We estimated exposure distributions for each year, region, sex, and age group, and relative risks per unit of exposure by systematically reviewing and synthesising published and unpublished data. We used these estimates, together with estimates of cause-specific deaths and DALYs from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010, to calculate the burden attributable to each risk factor exposure compared with the theoretical-minimum-risk exposure. We incorporated uncertainty in disease burden, relative risks, and exposures into our estimates of attributable burden. ::: ::: FINDINGS ::: ::: In 2010, the three leading risk factors for global disease burden were high blood pressure (7·0% [95% uncertainty interval 6·2-7·7] of global DALYs), tobacco smoking including second-hand smoke (6·3% [5·5-7·0]), and alcohol use (5·5% [5·0-5·9]). In 1990, the leading risks were childhood underweight (7·9% [6·8-9·4]), household air pollution from solid fuels (HAP; 7·0% [5·6-8·3]), and tobacco smoking including second-hand smoke (6·1% [5·4-6·8]). Dietary risk factors and physical inactivity collectively accounted for 10·0% (95% UI 9·2-10·8) of global DALYs in 2010, with the most prominent dietary risks being diets low in fruits and those high in sodium. Several risks that primarily affect childhood communicable diseases, including unimproved water and sanitation and childhood micronutrient deficiencies, fell in rank between 1990 and 2010, with unimproved water and sanitation accounting for 0·9% (0·4-1·6) of global DALYs in 2010. However, in most of sub-Saharan Africa childhood underweight, HAP, and non-exclusive and discontinued breastfeeding were the leading risks in 2010, while HAP was the leading risk in south Asia. The leading risk factor in Eastern Europe, most of Latin America, and southern sub-Saharan Africa in 2010 was alcohol use; in most of Asia, North Africa and Middle East, and central Europe it was high blood pressure. Despite declines, tobacco smoking including second-hand smoke remained the leading risk in high-income north America and western Europe. High body-mass index has increased globally and it is the leading risk in Australasia and southern Latin America, and also ranks high in other high-income regions, North Africa and Middle East, and Oceania. ::: ::: INTERPRETATION ::: ::: Worldwide, the contribution of different risk factors to disease burden has changed substantially, with a shift away from risks for communicable diseases in children towards those for non-communicable diseases in adults. These changes are related to the ageing population, decreased mortality among children younger than 5 years, changes in cause-of-death composition, and changes in risk factor exposures. New evidence has led to changes in the magnitude of key risks including unimproved water and sanitation, vitamin A and zinc deficiencies, and ambient particulate matter pollution. The extent to which the epidemiological shift has occurred and what the leading risks currently are varies greatly across regions. In much of sub-Saharan Africa, the leading risks are still those associated with poverty and those that affect children.
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paper_title: Unmanned aerial gas leakage localization and mapping using microdrones

paper_content:

We present an autonomous-mobile gas detection system to assess the measurement of specific gas concentrations in a wide range of outdoor applications. This is especially of interest in those harsh environments where it is impractical or uneconomical to install a fixed array of gas sensors. The system is able to work in potentially hazardous emissions areas — toxic gas leakages — in completely secure working conditions for the operators. Used as payload on a Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), it can provide gas measurements with adaptive and high resolution sampling rates in accordance to gas concentration and carrier speed. Each measurement is associated with the location provided by the embedded GPS module. Remarkable features are the small size, the low power consumption and costs, compared to traditional systems. Finally, we presents a novel approach to optimize the speed of the vehicle and the system power consumption based on gas sampling frequency, which allows lifetime maximization and leakage detection reliability.
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paper_title: An Overview of the “Volcan Project”: An UAS for Exploration of Volcanic Environments

paper_content:

This paper presents an overview of the Volcan Project, whose goal is the realization of an autonomous aerial system able to perform aerial surveillance of volcanic areas and to analyze the composition of gases inside volcanic plumes. There are increasing experimental evidences that measuring the chemical composition of volcanic gases can contribute to forecast volcanic eruptions. However, in situ gas sampling is a difficult operation and often exposes scientists to significant risks. At this aim, an Unmanned Aircraft System equipped with remote sensing technologies, able to sense the plume in the proximity of the crater, has been developed. In this paper, the aerial platform will be presented, together with the problems related to the flight in a hard scenario like the volcanic one and the tests performed with the aim of finding the right configuration for the vehicle. The developed autonomous navigation system and the sensors unit for gas analysis will be introduced; at the end, several experimental results will be described.
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paper_title: Sub-miniature ExB sector-field mass spectrometer.

paper_content:

A novel sub-miniature double-focusing sector-field mass spectrometer has been fabricated at the University of Minnesota using a combination of conventional machining methods and thin film patterning techniques typically used in the sensor technology industry. Its design is based on the mass separation capabilities of a 90 degrees cylindrical crossed electric and magnetic sector-field analyzer with a 2-cm radius, which under proper conditions is able to effectively cancel the angular and chromatic dispersion of the ion beam, thus improving the resolving power of the instrument. Simulations using finite element analysis and computer modeling were employed to verify and optimize the performance of the proposed instrument before and during its fabrication. The prototype was able to attain a resolving power of 106 full-width at half-maximum (FWHM), a detection limit close to 10 parts per million, a dynamic range of 5 orders of magnitude and a mass range up to 103 Da. Its overall size, including the magnet assembly, is 3.5 cm wide, 6 cm long and 7.5 cm tall, it weighs 0.8 kg, and its power consumption was measured to be 2.5 W. The performance of the instrument was found to be comparable to that of commercial residual gas analyzers, at a fraction of the cost. All these characteristics make this miniature mass spectrometer suitable for portable and low-cost analytical instrumentation.
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paper_title: Volcano surveillance by ACR silver fox

paper_content:

Recent growth in the business of unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) both in the US and abroad has improved their overall capability, resulting in a reduction in cost, greater reliability and adoption into areas where they had previously not been considered. Uses in coastal and border patrol, forestry and agriculture have recently been evaluated in an effort to expand the observed area and reduce surveillance and reconnaissance costs for information gathering. The scientific community has both contributed and benefited greatly in this development. A larger suite of light-weight miniaturized sensors now exists for a range of applications which in turn has led to an increase in the gathering of information from these autonomous vehicles. In October 2004 the first eruption of Mount St Helens since 1986 caused tremendous interest among people worldwide. Volcanologists at the U.S. Geological Survey rapidly ramped up the level of monitoring using a variety of ground-based sensors deployed in the crater and on the flanks of the volcano using manned helicopters. In order to develop additional unmanned sensing methods that can be used in potentially hazardous and low visibility conditions, a UAV experiment was conducted during the ongoing eruption early in November. The
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paper_title: UAV Thermal Infrared Remote Sensing of an Italian Mud Volcano

paper_content:

Extreme environments like active volcanoes exhibit many ::: difficulties in being studied by in situ techniques. For example, during eruptions, summit areas are very hard to be ::: accessed because of logistics problems and/or volcanic hazards. The use of ::: remote sensing techniques in the last 20 years by satellite or airborne platforms ::: has proven their capabilities in mapping and monitoring the evolution of ::: volcanic activity. This approach has become increasingly important, as much ::: interest is actually focused on understanding precursory signals to volcanic ::: eruptions. In this work we verify the use of cutting-edge technology like ::: unmanned flying system thermally equipped for volcanic applications. We present ::: the results of a flight test performed by INGV in collaboration with the ::: University of Bologna (Aerospace Division) by using a multi-rotor aircraft in a ::: hexacopter configuration. The experiment was realized in radio controlled mode ::: to overcome many regulation problems which, especially in Italy, limit the use ::: of this system in autonomous mode. The overall goal was not only qualitative ::: but also quantitative oriented. The system flew above an Italian mud volcano, ::: named Le Salinelle, located on the lower South West flank of Mt. Etna volcano, ::: which was chosen as representative site, providing not only a discrimination ::: between hot and cold areas, but also the corresponding temperature values. The ::: in-flight measurements have been cross-validated with contemporaneous in-situ acquisition of thermal data and ::: from independent measurements of mud/water temperature.
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paper_title: A Mixed Terrestrial Aerial Robotic Platform for Volcanic and Industrial Surveillance

paper_content:

This paper presents a short overview of a new mixed Terrestrial Aerial Robotic PLAtform for Volcanic and Industrial Surveillance (TARPLAVIS). The aim of the project was to integrate different technologies in order to build an innovative platform to help operators in the management of industrial and volcanic crises. A strong similarity exists between crises occurring in volcanic sites and in many types of industrial plants. The platform comprises a terrestrial rover Robovolc, a UAV, a climbing robot, a telecontrol system and all the supporting communication equipment. The system tries to exploit the quality of each subsystem to represent a useful tool in crises management. Several test campaigns were run to evaluate the performance of each module and to improve the interconnections between the subsystems.
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paper_title: HIL Tuning of UAV for Exploration of Risky Environments

paper_content:

In this paper the latest results of an HIL architecture, optimized to develop and test UAV platforms are presented. This architecture has been used to realize the different devices involved in the navigation and stability control of the Volcan UAV, a plane designed to operate in volcanic environments.The proposed architecture is strongly modular and flexible and allows the development of avionic hardware and software, testing and tuning the involved algorithms with non-destructive trials. A flight simulator (X-Plane) with a suitable plane model and plug-in, has been adopted to simulate the UAV dynamics. The flight simulator, interfaced with the real electronic boards, allows an easy tuning of all the control parameters and data collecting for test and validation.The effectiveness of adopted methodology was confirmed by several flight tests performed subsequently by using the designed avionic modules on the real UAV.
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paper_title: Volcano Monitoring with small Unmanned Aerial Systems

paper_content:

The development of small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) with a variety of sensor packages enables in situ and proximal remote sensing measurements of volcanic plumes. Using Costa Rican volcanoes as Natural Laboratories, we describe an initiative to develop low-cost, field-deployable airborne platforms to perform volcanic ash plume research and in situ volcanic monitoring in general, in conjunction with orbital assets and state-of-the-art models of plume transport and composition. Several gas sensors including a miniature mass spectrometer, and an electrochemical SO2 sensor, combined with temperature, pressure, relative humidity, and GPS sensors, were deployed into the active plume of Turrialba Volcano. Several different airborne platforms such as manned research aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), tethered balloons, as well as man-portable in situ ground truth systems were used during these this research. Remote sensing data was also collected from the ASTER and OMI spaceborne instruments. The deployments demonstrated a path to study and visualize gaseous volcanic emissions using mass spectrometer and gas sensor based instrumentation in harsh environmental conditions to correlate in situ ground/airborne data with remote sensing satellite data for calibration and validation purposes. The deployment of such technology improves on our current capabilities to detect, analyze, monitor, model, and predict hazards presented to aircraft by volcanogenic ash clouds from active and impending volcanic eruptions .
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paper_title: Unmanned aerial vehicle measurements of volcanic carbon dioxide fluxes

paper_content:

[i] We report the first measurements of volcanic gases with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The data were collected at La Fossa crater, Vulcano, Italy, during April 2007, with a helicopter UAV of 3 kg payload, carrying an ultraviolet spectrometer for remotely sensing the SO 2 flux (8.5 Mg d- 1 ), and an infrared spectrometer, and electrochemical sensor assembly for measuring the plume CO 2 /SO 2 ratio; by multiplying these data we compute a CO 2 flux of 170 Mg d -1 . Given the deeper exsolution of carbon dioxide from magma, and its lower solubility in hydro-thermal systems, relative to SO 2 , the ability to remotely measure CO 2 fluxes is significant, with promise to provide more profound geochemical insights, and earlier eruption forecasts, than possible with SO 2 fluxes alone: the most ubiquitous current source of remotely sensed volcanic gas data.
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paper_title: Utilization of in situ airborne MS-based instrumentation for the study of gaseous emissions at active volcanoes

paper_content:

Abstract A small, 24 V powered, portable mass spectrometer system, named ULISSES, for the study and visualization of gaseous volcanic emission is described. First deployments of the system have focused on both ground and airborne in situ measurement to monitor the awakening of the Turrialba Volcano in Costa Rica. Key gas measurements were acquired prior and after its eruption on 5 January 2010, confirming the presence of gas chemistry precursors typical of volcanic eruptions. Ground and airborne measurements were acquired to gain volcanological insight and as the first step towards the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as future airborne platforms and to confirm its unique capability to serve as a calibration/validation tool for satellite remote sensing data. Low parts per million (ppm) levels of helium and a large concentration of sulfur dioxide were measured in situ after the initial eruption. In particular, the SO 2 data correlated with satellite remote sensing data.
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paper_title: Autonomous Aerosondes for Economical Atmospheric Soundings Anywhere on the Globe

paper_content:

Abstract Considerable interest in the use of autonomous aircraft for atmospheric measurements in remote and hazardous areas world-wide has arisen over recent years. Their application in tropical cyclone reconnaissance is under study by the World Meteorological Organization and the International Council for Scientific Unions under the United Nations International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction. More diverse experiments, particularly for stratospheric operations, are being planned by agencies in the United States. The aerosonde can provide an economical and flexible element in these international initiatives. The concept is for a small aircraft (weighing less than 20 kg) with on-board meteorological sensors to provide radiosonde-quality observations at any location on the globe. Individual missions could span several thousand kilometers and several days’ duration, using the Global Positioning System for autonomous navigation, and satellite relay for data return and flight-plan updates. With a superch...
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paper_title: The concentration-response relation between PM(2.5) and daily deaths.

paper_content:

Particulate air pollution at commonly occurring concentrations is associated with daily deaths. Recent attention has focused on the shape of the concentration-response curve, particularly at low doses. Several recent articles have reported that particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter < or = 10 microm (PM(10)) was associated with daily deaths with no evidence of a threshold. These reports have used smoothing or spline methods in individual cities and pooled the results across multiple cities to obtain estimates that are more robust. To date, fine particulate matter (aerodynamic diameter Less than or equal to 2.5 microm; PM(2.5)), a component of PM(10), has not been examined in this regard. We examined this association in a hierarchical model in six U.S. cities. In the first stage, we fit log-linear models including smooth functions of PM(2.5) in each city, controlling for season, weather, and day of the week. These smooth functions allowed for nonlinearities in the city-specific associations. We combined the estimated curves across cities using a hierarchical model that allows for heterogeneity. We found an essentially linear relationship down to 2 microg/m(3). The same approach was applied to examine the concentration response to traffic particles, controlling for particles from other sources. Once again, the association showed no sign of a threshold. The magnitude of the association suggests that controlling fine particle pollution would result in thousands of fewer early deaths per year.
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paper_title: Chemical mapping of a fumarolic field: La Fossa Crater, Vulcano Island (Aeolian Islands, Italy)

paper_content:

[1] The performance of a newly-developed portable gas analyzer, capable of real-time measurement of CO2, SO2 and H2S concentrations in volcanic gases, was tested at La Fossa Crater, Vulcano Island. The gas analyzer was used to acquire about 3000 determinations over the fumarolic field, allowing the definition of its chemical structure and heterogeneity. Our high-resolution analysis reveals that, in December 2004, the La Fossa fumarolic field was characterized by an oxidized inner core (SO2/H2S ratios of ∼3), and by more reducing conditions on its northern edge (SO2/H2S ratios of ∼1; range: 0.2–3.3). CO2/(SO2+H2S) molar ratios averaged 35 ± 21, with overlapping compositions for rim and inner crater fumaroles. S-poor compositions (CO2/(SO2+H2S) ≥ 50) characterized the field margins, probably due to deposition of native sulfur. Based on the above data and an SO2 flux of 18 ± 3 t·d−1, we estimate CO2 and H2S output rates from the volcano of 420 ± 250 and 4 ± 2 t·d−1, respectively.
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paper_title: “Hardware in the Loop” Tuning for a Volcanic Gas Sampling UAV

paper_content:

Significant advances have been made in recent years in volcanic eruption forecasting and in understanding the behaviour of volcanoes. A major requirement is improvement in the collection of field data using innovative methodologies and sensors. Collected data are typically used as input for computer simulations of volcanic activity, to improve forecasts for longlived volcanic phenomena, such as lava flow eruptions and sand-rain.
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paper_title: Unmanned Aerial Mass Spectrometer Systems for In-Situ Volcanic Plume Analysis

paper_content:

Technology advances in the field of small, unmanned aerial vehicles and their integration with a variety of sensor packages and instruments, such as miniature mass spectrometers, have enhanced the possibilities and applications of what are now called unmanned aerial systems (UAS). With such technology, in situ and proximal remote sensing measurements of volcanic plumes are now possible without risking the lives of scientists and personnel in charge of close monitoring of volcanic activity. These methods provide unprecedented, and otherwise unobtainable, data very close in space and time to eruptions, to better understand the role of gas volatiles in magma and subsequent eruption products. Small mass spectrometers, together with the world's smallest turbo molecular pump, have being integrated into NASA and University of Costa Rica UAS platforms to be field-tested for in situ volcanic plume analysis, and in support of the calibration and validation of satellite-based remote sensing data. These new UAS-MS systems are combined with existing UAS flight-tested payloads and assets, such as temperature, pressure, relative humidity, SO2, H2S, CO2, GPS sensors, on-board data storage, and telemetry. Such payloads are capable of generating real time 3D concentration maps of the Turrialba volcano active plume in Costa Rica, while remote sensing data are simultaneously collected from the ASTER and OMI space-borne instruments for comparison. The primary goal is to improve the understanding of the chemical and physical properties of emissions for mitigation of local volcanic hazards, for the validation of species detection and abundance of retrievals based on remote sensing, and to validate transport models.
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paper_title: The Eyewall-Penetration Reconnaissance Observation of Typhoon Longwang (2005) with Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, Aerosonde

paper_content:

Abstract In this paper, a successful eye-penetration reconnaissance flight by an unmanned aerial vehicle, Aerosonde, into Typhoon Longwang (2005) and the preliminary analyses of the collected data are presented. The 10-h flight is diagnosed through four flight legs. The wind field measured along flight leg 1 provides the tangential and radial wind profiles from the outer perimeter into the eye of the typhoon at the 700-hPa layer. A vertical sounding was taken in the eye along flight leg 2 and the derived surface pressure in the eyewall is close to the estimates made by the local weather agencies. Along flight leg 3, the strongest winds during the whole flight mission were measured. These in situ wind measurements by Aerosonde are consistent with the winds observed by the Hua-lien Doppler weather radar. The maximum 10-min (1 min) wind along flight leg 3 when Aerosonde was flying around the eyewall region is 58.6 m s−1 (62 m s−1). The maximum sustained surface wind derived from this maximum wind speed is al...
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paper_title: UAVs OVER AUSTRALIA- Market And Capabilities

paper_content:

It is generally accepted in the global aerospace industry that technologies required for autonomous capabilities for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are mature enough for more widespread use. Market surveys predict a significant increase in UAV usage over the next five years, when the strong growth in the military applications market would start to settle, while the market for civilian UAV applications is predicted to grow significantly. In the Australian context, the CSIRO Office of Space Science and Applications (COSSA) sponsored the inaugural national Symposium on Drone Technology and Use in late 1996. The meeting presented a means of gathering and sharing data on research and development for UAVs in Australia, while exploring potential applications in the scientific, academic, telecommunications, and remote sensing communities. The meeting further illustrated impending high activity in research and development of UAVs for specific applications. One outcome of the national UAV symposium was that it prompted the Aerospace Technology Forum, an Australian federal government initiative to strengthen the linkages between Australia's major research institutions and aerospace industries, to initiate a study on the UAV market in Australia. This paper presents a partial summary of the outcomes of the study. It highlights the major findings and pose recommendations with regard to: the potential of UAV applications in Australia; the capability of the research activities and manufacturing industries to support UAV developments; and some strategies to encourage the use of UAVs for specific applications.
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paper_title: Unmanned aerial vehicle measurements of volcanic carbon dioxide fluxes

paper_content:

[i] We report the first measurements of volcanic gases with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The data were collected at La Fossa crater, Vulcano, Italy, during April 2007, with a helicopter UAV of 3 kg payload, carrying an ultraviolet spectrometer for remotely sensing the SO 2 flux (8.5 Mg d- 1 ), and an infrared spectrometer, and electrochemical sensor assembly for measuring the plume CO 2 /SO 2 ratio; by multiplying these data we compute a CO 2 flux of 170 Mg d -1 . Given the deeper exsolution of carbon dioxide from magma, and its lower solubility in hydro-thermal systems, relative to SO 2 , the ability to remotely measure CO 2 fluxes is significant, with promise to provide more profound geochemical insights, and earlier eruption forecasts, than possible with SO 2 fluxes alone: the most ubiquitous current source of remotely sensed volcanic gas data.
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paper_title: Applications of Aerosondes in the Arctic

paper_content:

he U.S. Arctic remains one of the most difficult places on Earth for year-round scientific observations and research. Logistical support is very expensive, and scientists frequently face dangerous, cold sea–ice dynamics, aircraft icing—even polar bears. While satellites can obtain data in remote regions, their application to many arctic environmental problems is hampered by persistent cloudiness and the complexity of the underlying snow/ice surface. One of the major recommendations of the 1997 report, “Logistics Recommendations for an Improved U.S. Arctic Research Capability” (www.arcus.org/logistics/index.html), was to increase use of robotic aircraft to meet the growing need for environmental observing in the region. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) excel in “dull, dirty, dangerous” missions. Such UAVs, made by Aerosonde (www.aerosonde. com), were first flown in the Arctic (from a base in Barrow, Alaska) in April 1999 to obtain meteorological observations in support of the Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program (ARM). However, after only 16 h of flying for this mission, the project lost two aircraft due to airframe icing and one aircraft due to carburetor icing. This mission clearly demonstrated the difficulties of flying the Aerosonde in the extreme arctic environment. The National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs soon followed these tests by funding a project to establish a facility in Barrow, Alaska, adapt the Aerosonde to extreme arctic conditions, adapt and integrate miniature instrumentation, and assimilate Aerosonde data into predictive models. Meanwhile, the Office of Naval Research began supporting the development and integration of a variety of miniature research instruments for remote sensing of the sea ice surface, measurements of radiative fluxes, and in situ measurements of cloud and precipitation characteristics. Since the first Arctic flights, the Aerosonde has undergone a number of engineering modifications (see Table 1 for Aerosonde specifications). As a result, the Aerosonde project is overcoming the engineering and logistical challenges of operating in the polar environment.
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paper_title: Mobile Robots for Localizing Gas Emission Sources on Landfill Sites: Is Bio-Inspiration the Way to Go?

paper_content:

Roboticists often take inspiration from animals for designing sensors, actuators, or algorithms that control the behavior of robots. Bio-inspiration is motivated with the uncanny ability of animals to solve complex tasks like recognizing and manipulating objects, walking on uneven terrains, or navigating to the source of an odor plume. In particular the task of tracking an odor plume up to its source has nearly exclusively been addressed using biologically inspired algorithms and robots have been developed, for example, to mimic the behavior of moths, dung beetles, or lobsters. In this paper we argue that biomimetic approaches to gas source localization are of limited use, primarily because animals differ fundamentally in their sensing and actuation capabilities from state-of-the-art gas-sensitive mobile robots. To support our claim, we compare actuation and chemical sensing available to mobile robots to the corresponding capabilities of moths. We further characterize airflow and chemosensor measurements obtained with three different robot platforms (two wheeled robots and one flying micro-drone) in four prototypical environments and show that the assumption of a constant and unidirectional airflow, which is the basis of many gas source localization approaches, is usually far from being valid. This analysis should help to identify how underlying principles, which govern the gas source tracking behavior of animals, can be usefully "translated" into gas source localization approaches that fully take into account the capabilities of mobile robots. We also describe the requirements for a reference application, monitoring of gas emissions at landfill sites with mobile robots, and discuss an engineered gas source localization approach based on statistics as an alternative to biologically inspired algorithms.
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paper_title: Near-Field Characterization of Methane Emission Variability from a Compressor Station Using a Model Aircraft.

paper_content:

A model aircraft equipped with a custom laser-based, open-path methane sensor was deployed around a natural gas compressor station to quantify the methane leak rate and its variability at a compressor station in the Barnett Shale. The open-path, laser-based sensor provides fast (10 Hz) and precise (0.1 ppmv) measurements of methane in a compact package while the remote control aircraft provides nimble and safe operation around a local source. Emission rates were measured from 22 flights over a one-week period. Mean emission rates of 14 ± 8 g CH4 s(-1) (7.4 ± 4.2 g CH4 s(-1) median) from the station were observed or approximately 0.02% of the station throughput. Significant variability in emission rates (0.3-73 g CH4 s(-1) range) was observed on time scales of hours to days, and plumes showed high spatial variability in the horizontal and vertical dimensions. Given the high spatiotemporal variability of emissions, individual measurements taken over short durations and from ground-based platforms should be used with caution when examining compressor station emissions. More generally, our results demonstrate the unique advantages and challenges of platforms like small unmanned aerial vehicles for quantifying local emission sources to the atmosphere.
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paper_title: Low-cost Multi-UAV Technologies for Contour Mapping of Nuclear Radiation Field

paper_content:

Low cost UAVs are becoming more and more popular in both research and practical applications, and it leads to a new, potentially significant service product known as UAV-based personal remote sensing (PRS). Multi-UAV system with advanced cooperative control algorithms has advantages over single UAV system, especially in time urgent tasks such as detecting nuclear radiation before deploying the salvage. This paper considers two scenarios for nuclear radiation detection using multiple UAVs, of which contour mapping of the nuclear radiation is simulated. Then, for real applications, this paper presents a low-cost UAV platform with built-in formation flight control architecture together with a formulated standard flight test routine. Three experimental formation flight scenarios that imitate the nuclear detection missions are prepared for contour mapping of nuclear radiation field in 3D space.
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paper_title: Integration of an unmanned vehicle and its application to real-time gas detection and monitoring

paper_content:

A real-time aerial gas detection and monitoring system is developed for air quality control in China Steel Corporation (CSC). A gas detection module is integrated with an quadrotor and the collected gas information is going to be delivered to a ground station through wireless communication. According to the measurement data, real-time and post analyses will be applied and the results could also be passed to product line for references and other applications. Moreover, image process technology is also integrated into the flight system such that a selected target could be detected automatically during the flight task. Finally, experiments are presented to demonstrate the main concept of the prototype system.
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paper_title: Theoretical analysis of three bio-inspired plume tracking algorithms

paper_content:

We derive the theoretical performance of three bio-inspired odor source localization algorithms (casting, surge-spiral and surge-cast) in laminar wind flow. Based on the geometry of the trajectories and the wind direction sensor error, we calculate the distribution of the distance overhead and the mean success rate using Bayes inference. Our approach is related to particle filtering and produces smooth output distributions. The results are compared to existing real-robot and simulation results, and a good match is observed.
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paper_title: Development and application of an autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle for precise aerobiological sampling above agricultural fields

paper_content:

Remote-controlled (RC) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been used to study the movement of agricultural threat agents (e.g., plant and animal pathogens, invasive weeds, and exotic insects) above crop fields, but these RC UAVs are operated entirely by a ground-based pilot and often demonstrate large fluctuations in sampling height, sampling pattern, and sampling speed. In this paper, we describe the development and application of an autonomous UAV for precise aerobiological sampling tens to hundreds of meters above agricultural fields. We equipped a Senior Telemaster UAV with four aerobiological sampling devices and a MicroPilot-based autonomous system, and we conducted 25 sampling flights for potential agricultural threat agents at Virginia Tech's Kentland Farm. To determine the most appropriate sampling path for aerobiological sampling above crop fields with an autonomous UAV, we explored five different sampling patterns, including multiple global positioning system (GPS) waypoints plotted over a variety of spatial scales. An orbital sampling pattern around a single GPS waypoint exhibited high positional accuracy and produced altitude standard deviations ranging from 1.6 to 2.8 m. Autonomous UAVs have the potential to extend the range of aerobiological sampling, improve positional accuracy of sampling paths, and enable coordinated flight with multiple UAVs sampling at different altitudes. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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paper_title: Performance of an air sampler and a gamma-ray detector in a small unmanned aerial vehicle

paper_content:

The performance of an air sampler and a small gamma-ray spectrometer was tested in an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) able to carry payload with mass up to 0.5 kg. Operation of the sampler was investigated with the aid of radon progeny normally present in outdoor air. Detection limits for several transuranium nuclides in air are of the order of 0.3 Bq m−3 assuming 0.5 h sampling time and 1 h counting time in direct alpha spectrometry. Unshielded 137Cs and 60Co point sources at the ground level were used to test the CsI spectrometer. Detection limits are approximately 1 GBq or larger depending on the flying altitude.
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paper_title: Development of an autonomous unmanned aerial system to collect time-stamped samples from the atmosphere and localize potential pathogen sources

paper_content:

This paper presents the hardware development and testing of a new concept for air sampling via the integration of a prototype spore trap onboard an unmanned aerial system (UAS). We propose the integration of a prototype spore trap onboard a UAS to allow multiple capture of spores of pathogens in single remote locations at high or low altitude, otherwise not possible with stationary sampling devices. We also demonstrate the capability of this system for the capture of multiple time-stamped samples during a single mission. Wind tunnel testing was followed by simulation, and flight testing was conducted to measure and quantify the spread during simulated airborne air sampling operations. During autonomous operations, the onboard autopilot commands the servo to rotate the sampling device to a new indexed location once the UAS vehicle reaches the predefined waypoint or set of waypoints (which represents the region of interest). Time-stamped UAS data are continuously logged during the flight to assist with analysis of the particles collected. Testing and validation of the autopilot and spore trap integration, functionality, and performance is described. These tools may enhance the ability to detect new incursions of spores. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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paper_title: UAV-Based Connectivity Maintenance for Borderline Detection

paper_content:

The communication aspects of Swarm-based Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) for surveillance and monitoring tasks have received increased attention in recent research. In this paper, we address the specific challenges of unpredictable incidents as forest fires, accidents in chemical or nuclear plants which cause potentially dangerous plumes. Therefore, we focus on the detection of chemical plume borderlines while maintaining the connectivity within the UAV team. Leveraging previously developed spatial exploration algorithms like Cooperative Repelling Walk we introduce two novel strategies to optimize the trade-off between detection-efficiency and communication constraints: the Aerosol-detecting Cooperative Repelling Walk (ADCRW) and the Distributed Dispersion Detection (DDD) Algorithm. Both algorithms are evaluated with the help of a multi-scale simulation model which includes a newly incorporated Briggs plume model. Considering the mentioned scenario the results of the performance evaluation demonstrate that the detection-efficiency of our novel algorithms is significantly improved, while at the same time connectivity goals are still met: with the new algorithms the time to detect the borderline of a plume can be reduced by 35%, while the connectivity within the swarm is about 100%.
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paper_title: FULL PAPER Gas source localization with a micro-drone using bio-inspired and particle filter-based algorithms

paper_content:

Gas source localization (GSL) with mobile robots is a challenging task due to the unpredictable nature of gas dispersion, the limitations of the currents sensing technologies, and the mobility constraints of ground-based robots. This work proposes an integral solution for the GSL task, including source declaration. We present a novel pseudo-gradient-based plume tracking algorithm and a particle filter-based source declaration approach, and apply it on a gas-sensitive micro-drone. We compare the performance of the proposed system in simulations and real-world experiments against two commonly used tracking algorithms adapted for aerial exploration missions.
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paper_title: Climate effects of black carbon aerosols in China and India.

paper_content:

In recent decades, there has been a tendency toward increased summer floods in south China, increased drought in north China, and moderate cooling in China and India while most of the world has been warming. We used a global climate model to investigate possible aerosol contributions to these trends. We found precipitation and temperature changes in the model that were comparable to those observed if the aerosols included a large proportion of absorbing black carbon (“soot”), similar to observed amounts. Absorbing aerosols heat the air, alter regional atmospheric stability and vertical motions, and affect the large-scale circulation and hydrologic cycle with significant regional climate effects.
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paper_title: Seasonal associations and atmospheric transport distances of fungi in the genus Fusarium collected with unmanned aerial vehicles and ground-based sampling devices

paper_content:

Abstract Spores of fungi in the genus Fusarium may be transported through the atmosphere over long distances. New information is needed to characterize seasonal trends in atmospheric loads of Fusarium and to pinpoint the source(s) of inoculum at both local (farm) and regional (state or country) scales. We hypothesized that (1) atmospheric concentrations of Fusarium spores in an agricultural ecosystem vary with height and season and (2) transport distances from potential inoculum source(s) vary with season. To test these hypotheses, spores of Fusarium were collected from the atmosphere in an agricultural ecosystem in Blacksburg, VA, USA using a Burkard volumetric sampler (BVS) 1 m above ground level and autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) 100 m above ground level. More than 2200 colony forming units (CFUs) of Fusarium were collected during 104 BVS sampling periods and 180 UAV sampling periods over four calendar years (2009–2012). Spore concentrations ranged from 0 to 13 and 0 to 23 spores m−3 for the BVS and the UAVs, respectively. Spore concentrations were generally higher in the fall, spring, and summer, and lower in the winter. Spore concentrations from the BVS were generally higher than those from the UAVs for both seasonal and hourly collections. A Gaussian plume transport model was used to estimate distances to the potential inoculum source(s) by season, and produced mean transport distances of 1.4 km for the spring, 1.7 km for the summer, 1.2 km for the fall, and 4.1 km for the winter. Environmental signatures that predict atmospheric loads of Fusarium could inform disease spread, air pollution, and climate change.
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paper_title: Analysis of Inlet Flow Structures for the Integration of a Remote Gas Sensor on a Multi-Rotor Unmanned Aircraft System

paper_content:

The Melbourne Metropolitan Fire Brigade are exploring the fitment of Hazardous Materials sensors to a quadrotor Unmanned Aircraft System. The aim of this paper is determine whether the flow structures surrounding the quadrotor would be sufficient to support measurements made by the sensor. Flow visualisation techniques (Schilieren) and point flow-rate measurements were used to characterise the complex flow structure surrounding the shroud. A number of viable regions for locating the inlet to the gas sensor were identified. Future work will explore the pressure at various locations on the inside of the duct.
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paper_title: Using drones of preconstruction monitoring conducting in mining enterprise

paper_content:

An inevitable consequence of any mining industry is the natural balance in the environment. In this context, the design and construction of mining and processing enterprises is necessary to conduct ecological monitoring research. Significantly affected by exposed air, due to work and taking into the account the specifics of the company is thrown wide range of pollutants. Especially dangerous is the construction of a mining enterprise in the vicinity of protected areas. The paper proposes the conditions for deposits of polymetallic sulphide ores consider using UAVs with special environmental payload during preconstruction monitoring.
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paper_title: Remote Sensing Using an Airborne Biosensor

paper_content:

There is no current method for remote identification of aerosolized bacteria. In particular, such a capability is required to warn of a biological warfare attack prior to human exposure. A fiber optic biosensor, capable of running four simultaneous immunoassays, was integrated with an automated fluidics unit, a cyclone-type air sampler, a radio transceiver, and batteries on a small, remotely piloted airplane capable of carrying a 4.5-kg payload. The biosensor system was able to collect aerosolized bacteria in flight, identify them, and transmit the data to the operator on the ground. The results demonstrate the feasibility of integrating a biosensor into a portable, remotely operated system for environmental analysis.
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paper_title: Theoretical Investigations on Mapping Mean Distributions of Particulate Matter, Inert, Reactive, and Secondary Pollutants from Wildfires by Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs)

paper_content:

Evaluated Weather Research and Forecasting model inline with chemistry (WRF/Chem) simulations of the 2009 Crazy Mountain Complex wildfire in Interior Alaska served as a testbed for typical Alaska wildfire-smoke conditions. A virtual unmanned air vehicle (UAV) sampled temperatures, dewpoint temperatures, primary inert and reactive gases and particular matter of different sizes as well as secondary pollutants from the WRF/Chem results using different sampling patterns, altitudes and speeds to investigate the impact of the sampling design on obtained mean distributions. In this experimental design, the WRF/Chem data served as the “grand truth” to assess the mean distributions from sampling. During frontal passage, the obtained mean distributions were sensitive to the flight patterns, speeds and heights. For inert constituents mean distributions from sampling agreed with the “grand truth” within a factor of two at 1000 m. Mean distributions of gases involved in photochemistry differed among flight patterns except for ozone. The diurnal cycle of these gases’ concentrations led to overestimation (underestimation) of 20 h means in areas of high (low) concentrations as compared to the “grand truth.” The mean ozone distribution was sensitive to the speed of the virtual UAV. Particulate matter showed the strongest sensitivity to the flight patterns, especially during precipitation.
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paper_title: Validation of a quad-rotor helicopter Matlab/Simulink and solidworks models

paper_content:

Over the years, quad-rotor helicopters have generated considerable interest in the community of Intelligent Control. This can be linked to the fact that they are simple in construction and very agile. Control of the vehicle is achieved by varying the lift forces of the four rotors, which depend on the flow conditions around the propellers and the propeller speeds. In this paper, computations performed with an analytical model of the quad-rotor built in Matlab/Simulink are compared with those obtained using CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) on a 3-D Solidworks model of the same helicopter. The two are also compared with results from real experiments, with a general agreement between the numerical and experimental results, which can be judged satisfactory. This is enough to validate the use of the simulation results for similar future analysis and prediction of the helicopter movements and effects of wind flow on it.
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paper_title: Monitoring of gas pipelines - a civil UAV application

paper_content:

Purpose – It is in the interest of any gas company to maintain the value of its pipelines and to protect them effectively against damage caused by third parties. Aims to address this issue.Design/methodology/approach – As a result of global progress in high‐resolution remote sensing and image processing technology, it is now possible to design natural gas pipeline monitoring systems with remote sensors and context‐oriented image processing software.Findings – Recent developments in UAV technology show that UAVs provide the appropriate platforms for a remote sensing‐based inspection system: appropriate small and medium size UAV have been developed, their operation is technically feasible in an controlled as well as in uncontrolled airspace.Research limitations/implications – The data and information processing system still has to be developed to an operational standard. A total operational system consisting of UAV platform, sensors, data processing and alarm detection has to be demonstrated in a complete m...
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paper_title: A comparative risk assessment of burden of disease and injury attributable to 67 risk factors and risk factor clusters in 21 regions, 1990–2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010

paper_content:

PMC Free-text ::: ::: BACKGROUND ::: ::: Quantification of the disease burden caused by different risks informs prevention by providing an account of health loss different to that provided by a disease-by-disease analysis. No complete revision of global disease burden caused by risk factors has been done since a comparative risk assessment in 2000, and no previous analysis has assessed changes in burden attributable to risk factors over time. ::: ::: METHODS ::: ::: We estimated deaths and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs; sum of years lived with disability [YLD] and years of life lost [YLL]) attributable to the independent effects of 67 risk factors and clusters of risk factors for 21 regions in 1990 and 2010. We estimated exposure distributions for each year, region, sex, and age group, and relative risks per unit of exposure by systematically reviewing and synthesising published and unpublished data. We used these estimates, together with estimates of cause-specific deaths and DALYs from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010, to calculate the burden attributable to each risk factor exposure compared with the theoretical-minimum-risk exposure. We incorporated uncertainty in disease burden, relative risks, and exposures into our estimates of attributable burden. ::: ::: FINDINGS ::: ::: In 2010, the three leading risk factors for global disease burden were high blood pressure (7·0% [95% uncertainty interval 6·2-7·7] of global DALYs), tobacco smoking including second-hand smoke (6·3% [5·5-7·0]), and alcohol use (5·5% [5·0-5·9]). In 1990, the leading risks were childhood underweight (7·9% [6·8-9·4]), household air pollution from solid fuels (HAP; 7·0% [5·6-8·3]), and tobacco smoking including second-hand smoke (6·1% [5·4-6·8]). Dietary risk factors and physical inactivity collectively accounted for 10·0% (95% UI 9·2-10·8) of global DALYs in 2010, with the most prominent dietary risks being diets low in fruits and those high in sodium. Several risks that primarily affect childhood communicable diseases, including unimproved water and sanitation and childhood micronutrient deficiencies, fell in rank between 1990 and 2010, with unimproved water and sanitation accounting for 0·9% (0·4-1·6) of global DALYs in 2010. However, in most of sub-Saharan Africa childhood underweight, HAP, and non-exclusive and discontinued breastfeeding were the leading risks in 2010, while HAP was the leading risk in south Asia. The leading risk factor in Eastern Europe, most of Latin America, and southern sub-Saharan Africa in 2010 was alcohol use; in most of Asia, North Africa and Middle East, and central Europe it was high blood pressure. Despite declines, tobacco smoking including second-hand smoke remained the leading risk in high-income north America and western Europe. High body-mass index has increased globally and it is the leading risk in Australasia and southern Latin America, and also ranks high in other high-income regions, North Africa and Middle East, and Oceania. ::: ::: INTERPRETATION ::: ::: Worldwide, the contribution of different risk factors to disease burden has changed substantially, with a shift away from risks for communicable diseases in children towards those for non-communicable diseases in adults. These changes are related to the ageing population, decreased mortality among children younger than 5 years, changes in cause-of-death composition, and changes in risk factor exposures. New evidence has led to changes in the magnitude of key risks including unimproved water and sanitation, vitamin A and zinc deficiencies, and ambient particulate matter pollution. The extent to which the epidemiological shift has occurred and what the leading risks currently are varies greatly across regions. In much of sub-Saharan Africa, the leading risks are still those associated with poverty and those that affect children.
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paper_title: Chemical mapping of a fumarolic field: La Fossa Crater, Vulcano Island (Aeolian Islands, Italy)

paper_content:

[1] The performance of a newly-developed portable gas analyzer, capable of real-time measurement of CO2, SO2 and H2S concentrations in volcanic gases, was tested at La Fossa Crater, Vulcano Island. The gas analyzer was used to acquire about 3000 determinations over the fumarolic field, allowing the definition of its chemical structure and heterogeneity. Our high-resolution analysis reveals that, in December 2004, the La Fossa fumarolic field was characterized by an oxidized inner core (SO2/H2S ratios of ∼3), and by more reducing conditions on its northern edge (SO2/H2S ratios of ∼1; range: 0.2–3.3). CO2/(SO2+H2S) molar ratios averaged 35 ± 21, with overlapping compositions for rim and inner crater fumaroles. S-poor compositions (CO2/(SO2+H2S) ≥ 50) characterized the field margins, probably due to deposition of native sulfur. Based on the above data and an SO2 flux of 18 ± 3 t·d−1, we estimate CO2 and H2S output rates from the volcano of 420 ± 250 and 4 ± 2 t·d−1, respectively.
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paper_title: Biological agent detection with the use of an airborne biosensor

paper_content:

The ability to identify aerosolized bacteria remotely with the use of a small unpiloted, all-electric aircraft was demonstrated. Swallow, an aircraft custom-built for the purpose of air-particle collection, was catapult-launched, flown by line of sight for 20-min missions, and recovered by landing on a short runway. Once airborne, the sensor payload, which included a particle collector, fluidics control unit, and biosensor, was activated. The sensor utilized was the Analyte 2000 fiber optic biosensor, which performs four simultaneous fluorescent sandwich immunoassays on the surface of tapered optical probes. Five-minute test cycles were conducted continuously and monitored at the ground station until the plane returned. Then Swallow and its sensor payload could be ready for additional flights within 30 min of landing. During the trial, Swallow successfully collected and identified an aerosolized bacterial sample. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.* Field Analyt Chem Technol 3: 307–314, 1999
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paper_title: The Small Unmanned Meteorological Observer SUMO: Recent developments and applications of a micro-UAS for atmospheric boundary layer research

paper_content:

During the last 5 years, the Small Unmanned Meteorological Observer SUMO has been developed as a flexible tool for atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) research to be operated as sounding system for the lowest 4 km of the atmosphere. Recently two main technical improvements have been accomplished. The integration of an inertial measurement unit (IMU) into the Paparazzi autopilot system has expanded the environmental conditions for SUMO operation. The implementation of a 5-hole probe for determining the 3D flow vector with 100 Hz resolution and a faster temperature sensor has enhanced the measurement capabilities.
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paper_title: From Insects to Micro Air Vehicles—A Comparison of Reactive Plume Tracking Strategies

paper_content:

Insect behavior is a common source of inspiration for roboticists and computer scientists when designing gas-sensitive mobile robots. More specifically, tracking airborne odor plumes, and localization of distant gas sources are abilities that suit practical applications such as leak localization and emission monitoring. Gas sensing with mobile robots has been mostly addressed with ground-based platforms and under simplified conditions and thus, there exist a significant gap between the outstanding insect abilities and state-of-the-art robotics systems. As a step toward practical applications, we evaluated the performance of three biologically inspired plume tracking algorithms. The evaluation is carried out not only with computer simulations, but also with real-world experiments in which, a quadrocopter-based micro Unmanned Aerial Vehicle autonomously follows a methane trail toward the emitting source. Compared to ground robots, micro UAVs bring several advantages such as their superior steering capabilities and fewer mobility restrictions in complex terrains. The experimental evaluation shows that, under certain environmental conditions, insect like behavior in gas-sensitive UAVs is feasible in real-world environments.
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paper_title: Review: A review of advanced techniques for detecting plant diseases

paper_content:

Diseases in plants cause major production and economic losses in agricultural industry worldwide. Monitoring of health and detection of diseases in plants and trees is critical for sustainable agriculture. To the best of our knowledge, there is no sensor commercially available for real-time assessment of health conditions in trees. Currently, scouting is most widely used mechanism for monitoring stress in trees, which is an expensive, labor-intensive, and time-consuming process. Molecular techniques such as polymerase chain reaction are used for the identification of plant diseases that require detailed sampling and processing procedure. Early information on crop health and disease detection can facilitate the control of diseases through proper management strategies such as vector control through pesticide applications, fungicide applications, and disease-specific chemical applications; and can improve productivity. The present review recognizes the need for developing a rapid, cost-effective, and reliable health-monitoring sensor that would facilitate advancements in agriculture. It describes the currently used technologies that can be used for developing a ground-based sensor system to assist in monitoring health and diseases in plants under field conditions. These technologies include spectroscopic and imaging-based, and volatile profiling-based plant disease detection methods. The paper compares the benefits and limitations of these potential methods.
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paper_title: FULL PAPER Gas source localization with a micro-drone using bio-inspired and particle filter-based algorithms

paper_content:

Gas source localization (GSL) with mobile robots is a challenging task due to the unpredictable nature of gas dispersion, the limitations of the currents sensing technologies, and the mobility constraints of ground-based robots. This work proposes an integral solution for the GSL task, including source declaration. We present a novel pseudo-gradient-based plume tracking algorithm and a particle filter-based source declaration approach, and apply it on a gas-sensitive micro-drone. We compare the performance of the proposed system in simulations and real-world experiments against two commonly used tracking algorithms adapted for aerial exploration missions.
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paper_title: The Collaborative Colorado–Nebraska Unmanned Aircraft System Experiment

paper_content:

The Collaborative Colorado–Nebraska Unmanned Aircraft System Experiment (CoCoNUE) was executed on 1 March and 30 September 2009. The principal objective of this project was to examine the feasibility of using a small unmanned aircraft operating semi-autonomously with an onboard autopilot to observe atmospheric phenomena within the terrestrial boundary layer covered by the United States National Airspace System. The application of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS; the aircraft along with the communications and logistics infrastructure required for operation) is beset by a number of engineering and regulatory challenges. This article discusses the strategies implemented to meet these challenges. Airmass boundaries served as the target of the flights conducted. These atmospheric phenomena have the fortuitous combination of an across-boundary scale that yields a coherent signal in the in situ meteorological data that can be collected by a UAS and an along-boundary scale that can be easily tracked via the exis...
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paper_title: The NASA SIERRA science demonstration programme and the role of small-medium unmanned aircraft for earth science investigations

paper_content:

Earth scientists use unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to enable measurements and observations that cannot be collected by manned aircraft such as the ER-2, DC-8 or B-200. Science community interest in UAVs to date has largely been focused on the larger class of UAV such as the Global Hawk and Predator, because of the large mass of legacy airborne science instruments. With the continued miniaturization of instruments and data systems and the rapid pace of development of all classes of UAV world-wide during the past decade, smaller classes of UAV are now capable of providing important science measurements and observations. Small ( 500 lbs GTOW) complement the larger platforms by enabling in situ measurements of the atmospheric boundary layer with low-altitude remote sensing or air sampling, while providing a relatively low cost platform for storm penetration and dangerous, remote missions where the system may not return. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (N...
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paper_title: Tracking of atmospheric release of pollution using unmanned aerial vehicles

paper_content:

Abstract Tracking of an atmospheric release of pollution is usually based on measurements provided by stationary networks, occasionally complemented with deployment of mobile sensors. In this paper, we extend the existing concept to the case where the sensors are carried onboard of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The decision theoretic framework is used to design an unsupervised algorithm that navigates the UAVs to minimize the selected loss function. A particle filter with a problem-tailored proposal function was used as the underlying data assimilation procedure. A range of simulated twin experiments was performed on the problem of tracking an accidental release of radiation from a nuclear power plant in realistic settings. The main uncertainty was in the released activity and in parametric bias of the numerical weather forecast. It was shown that the UAVs can complement the existing stationary network to improve the accuracy of data assimilation. Moreover, two autonomously navigated UAVs alone were shown to provide assimilation results comparable to those obtained using the stationary network with more than thirty sensors.
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paper_title: Greenhouse gas analyzer for measurements of carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapor aboard an unmanned aerial vehicle

paper_content:

Abstract A compact, lightweight atmospheric gas analyzer has been integrated into and flown on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Sensor Integrated Environmental Remote Research Aircraft (SIERRA) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and deployed to make highly accurate, 1 Hz measurements of methane, carbon dioxide, and water vapor. The analyzer was used to measure gas concentrations in flight and to demonstrate the system for providing measurements at altitudes as low as 10 m and in remote locations. The first flights were conducted at Crows Landing, CA, an agricultural site, with H 2 O concentrations showing distinct structure and sharp features that were well outside of the measurement noise. The instrument was then deployed in Svalbard, Norway prior to the NASA Characterization of Arctic Sea Ice Experiment (CASIE). During the Svalbard flight, there was minimal variation in the CO 2 and CH 4 concentrations, but the water concentration changed dramatically, oscillating as the aircraft moved repeatedly through its racetrack shaped flight pattern. The regions of high water concentration corresponded to low-lying areas which collect runoff from the nearby Vestre Broggerbreen glacier. This novel, integrated instrument-aircraft system allows more numerous and efficient measurements of carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapor concentrations at low-altitudes and in remote or dangerous locations.
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paper_title: Volatile organic compounds in the atmosphere

paper_content:

Sources, Distributions, and Fates of VOCs in the Atmosphere Atmospheric VOCs from Natural Sources The UK Hydrocarbon Monitoring Network Source Inventories and Control Strategies for VOCs Gas Phase Tropospheric Chemistry of Organic Compounds Alternatives to CFCs and their Behaviour in the Atmosphere Volatile Organic Compounds in Indoor Air Volatile Organic Compounds: The Development of UK Policy Subject Index.
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paper_title: Utilization of in situ airborne MS-based instrumentation for the study of gaseous emissions at active volcanoes

paper_content:

Abstract A small, 24 V powered, portable mass spectrometer system, named ULISSES, for the study and visualization of gaseous volcanic emission is described. First deployments of the system have focused on both ground and airborne in situ measurement to monitor the awakening of the Turrialba Volcano in Costa Rica. Key gas measurements were acquired prior and after its eruption on 5 January 2010, confirming the presence of gas chemistry precursors typical of volcanic eruptions. Ground and airborne measurements were acquired to gain volcanological insight and as the first step towards the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as future airborne platforms and to confirm its unique capability to serve as a calibration/validation tool for satellite remote sensing data. Low parts per million (ppm) levels of helium and a large concentration of sulfur dioxide were measured in situ after the initial eruption. In particular, the SO 2 data correlated with satellite remote sensing data.
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paper_title: Applications of payload directed flight

paper_content:

Next generation aviation flight control concepts require autonomous and intelligent control system architectures that close control loops directly around payload sensors in manner more integrated and cohesive that in traditional autopilot designs. Research into payload and sensor directed flight control at NASA Ames Research Center is investigating new and novel architectures that can satisfy the requirements for next generation control and automation concepts for aviation. Tighter integration between sensor and machine require the definition of specific sensor directed control modes to tie the sensor data directly into a vehicle control structures throughout the entire control architecture, from low-level stability and control loops, to higher level mission planning and scheduling reasoning systems. Payload directed flight system provide guidance, navigation, and control for vehicle platforms hosting a suite of onboard payload sensors, performing missions that require observation of external partially observable systems or phenomena. This paper outlines related research into the field of payload directed flight, and outlines requirements and operating concepts for payload directed flight systems based on identified needs from the scientific literature.
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paper_title: Greenhouse gas analyzer for measurements of carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapor aboard an unmanned aerial vehicle

paper_content:

Abstract A compact, lightweight atmospheric gas analyzer has been integrated into and flown on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Sensor Integrated Environmental Remote Research Aircraft (SIERRA) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and deployed to make highly accurate, 1 Hz measurements of methane, carbon dioxide, and water vapor. The analyzer was used to measure gas concentrations in flight and to demonstrate the system for providing measurements at altitudes as low as 10 m and in remote locations. The first flights were conducted at Crows Landing, CA, an agricultural site, with H 2 O concentrations showing distinct structure and sharp features that were well outside of the measurement noise. The instrument was then deployed in Svalbard, Norway prior to the NASA Characterization of Arctic Sea Ice Experiment (CASIE). During the Svalbard flight, there was minimal variation in the CO 2 and CH 4 concentrations, but the water concentration changed dramatically, oscillating as the aircraft moved repeatedly through its racetrack shaped flight pattern. The regions of high water concentration corresponded to low-lying areas which collect runoff from the nearby Vestre Broggerbreen glacier. This novel, integrated instrument-aircraft system allows more numerous and efficient measurements of carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapor concentrations at low-altitudes and in remote or dangerous locations.
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paper_title: The Aerosonde Robotic Aircraft: A New Paradigm for Environmental Observations

paper_content:

The Aerosonde is a small robotic aircraft designed for highly flexible and inexpensive operations. Missions are conducted in a completely robotic mode, with the aircraft under the command of a ground controller who monitors the mission. Here we provide an update on the Aerosonde development and operations and expand on the vision for the future, including instrument pay loads, observational strategies, and platform capabilities. The aircraft was conceived in 1992 and developed to operational status in 1995–98, after a period of early prototyping. Continuing field operations and development since 1998 have led to the Aerosonde Mark 3, with ~2000 flight hours completed. A defined development path through to 2002 will enable the aircraft to become increasingly more robust with increased flexibility in the range and type of operations that can be achieved. An Aerosonde global reconnaissance facility is being developed that consists of launch and recovery sites dispersed around the globe. The use of satellite ...
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paper_title: Performance evaluation of a 1.6-µm methane DIAL system from ground, aircraft and UAV platforms.

paper_content:

Methane is an efficient absorber of infrared radiation and a potent greenhouse gas with a warming potential 72 times greater than carbon dioxide on a per molecule basis. Development of methane active remote sensing capability using the differential absorption lidar (DIAL) technique enables scientific assessments of the gas emission and impacts on the climate. A performance evaluation of a pulsed DIAL system for monitoring atmospheric methane is presented. This system leverages a robust injection-seeded pulsed Nd:YAG pumped Optical Parametric Oscillator (OPO) laser technology operating in the 1.645 µm spectral band. The system also leverages an efficient low noise, commercially available, InGaAs avalanche photo-detector (APD). Lidar signals and error budget are analyzed for system operation on ground in the range-resolved DIAL mode and from airborne platforms in the integrated path DIAL (IPDA) mode. Results indicate system capability of measuring methane concentration profiles with <1.0% total error up to 4.5 km range with 5 minute averaging from ground. For airborne IPDA, the total error in the column dry mixing ratio is less than 0.3% with 0.1 sec average using ground returns. This system has a unique capability of combining signals from the atmospheric scattering from layers above the surface with ground return signals, which provides methane column measurement between the atmospheric scattering layer and the ground directly. In such case 0.5% and 1.2% total errors are achieved with 10 sec average from airborne platforms at 8 km and 15.24 km altitudes, respectively. Due to the pulsed nature of the transmitter, the system is relatively insensitive to aerosol and cloud interferences. Such DIAL system would be ideal for investigating high latitude methane releases over polar ice sheets, permafrost regions, wetlands, and over ocean during day and night. This system would have commercial potential for fossil fuel leaks detection and industrial monitoring applications.
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Title: An Overview of Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Air Quality Measurements: Present Applications and Future Prospectives

Section 1: Introduction
Description 1: Introduce the compositional changes in ambient air due to emissions and the importance of air quality assessment.

Section 2: Health and Environmental Impact
Description 2: Discuss the adverse health effects and environmental impacts of particulate matter (PM), especially ultrafine particles (UFPs), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

Section 3: Air Quality Measurements
Description 3: Describe current methods for collecting air quality data, including ground level sampling, manned aircraft, and satellite measurements, and introduce UAVs as an alternative.

Section 4: UAV Types and Requirements for Outdoor Air Composition Studies
Description 4: Overview the different UAV types, their operational benefits, and their requirements for atmospheric measurements.

Section 5: Performance and Capability of UAVs
Description 5: Explain how UAV performance and capabilities relate to their size and how these factors influence their use in air quality monitoring.

Section 6: UAVs as Platform for Air Quality Research
Description 6: Discuss the specific application of UAVs for air quality research, including sensor integration, data collection, and operational advantages.

Section 7: Regulations and Advisories
Description 7: Summarize the regulatory framework governing the use of UAVs in air quality research and the operational restrictions in various countries.

Section 8: UAVs for Ambient and Air Quality Composition Measurements
Description 8: Highlight the contributions of UAVs to air quality research, including detailed case studies and specific examples of atmospheric measurements.

Section 9: Current Challenges, Possible Solutions and Future Applications of UAVs
Description 9: Address the challenges in UAV deployment for air quality monitoring, potential solutions, and future prospects, including technological advancements and research areas.

Section 10: Conclusions
Description 10: Conclude the survey by summarizing the main findings, the benefits of UAVs in air quality applications, and the areas needing further research and development.