An unmanned aerial vehicle sampling platform for atmospheric water vapor isotopes in polar environments
<p>Above polar ice sheets, atmospheric water vapor exchange occurs across the planetary boundary layer (PBL) and is an important mechanism in a number of processes that affect the surface mass balance of the ice sheets. Yet, this exchange is not well understood and has substantial implications...
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| Autores principales: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Formato: | article |
| Lenguaje: | EN |
| Publicado: |
Copernicus Publications
2021
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://doaj.org/article/81378edbb50e42438ebc614f4a537b43 |
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| Sumario: | <p>Above polar ice sheets, atmospheric water vapor exchange
occurs across the planetary boundary layer (PBL) and is an important
mechanism in a number of processes that affect the surface mass balance of
the ice sheets. Yet, this exchange is not well understood and has
substantial implications for modeling and remote sensing of the polar
hydrologic cycle. Efforts to characterize the exchange face substantial
logistical challenges including the remoteness of ice sheet field camps,
extreme weather conditions, low humidity and temperature that limit the
effectiveness of instruments, and dangers associated with flying manned
aircraft at low altitudes. Here, we present an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)
sampling platform for operation in extreme polar environments that is
capable of sampling atmospheric water vapor for subsequent measurement of
water isotopes. This system was deployed to the East Greenland Ice-core
Project (EastGRIP) camp in northeast Greenland during summer 2019. Four
sampling flight missions were completed. With a suite of atmospheric
measurements aboard the UAV (temperature, humidity, pressure, GPS) we
determine the height of the PBL using online algorithms, allowing for
strategic decision-making by the pilot to sample water isotopes above and
below the PBL. Water isotope data were measured by a Picarro L2130-<span class="inline-formula"><i>i</i></span>
instrument using flasks of atmospheric air collected within the nose cone of
the UAV. The internal repeatability for <span class="inline-formula"><i>δ</i></span>D and <span class="inline-formula"><i>δ</i><sup>18</sup></span>O was
2.8 ‰ and 0.45 ‰, respectively,
which we also compared to independent EastGRIP tower-isotope data. Based on
these results, we demonstrate the efficacy of this new UAV-isotope platform
and present improvements to be utilized in future polar field campaigns. The
system is also designed to be readily adaptable to other fields of study,
such as measurement of carbon cycle gases or remote sensing of ground
conditions.</p> |
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