An unmanned aerial vehicle sampling platform for atmospheric water vapor isotopes in polar environments
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 mode...
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ftunivbergen:oai:bora.uib.no:11250/2986673 2023-05-15T16:03:53+02:00 An unmanned aerial vehicle sampling platform for atmospheric water vapor isotopes in polar environments Rozmiarek, Kevin S. Vaughn, Bruce H. Jones, Tyler R. Morris, Valerie Skorski, William B. Hughes, Abigail G. Elston, Jack Wahl, Sonja Faber, Anne-Katrine Steen-Larsen, Hans Christian 2021 application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2986673 https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7045-2021 eng eng Copernicus Publications urn:issn:1867-1381 https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2986673 https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7045-2021 cristin:1953650 Atmospheric Measurement Techniques. 2021, 14 (11), 7045-7067. Navngivelse 4.0 Internasjonal http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.no Copyright Author(s) 2021 Atmospheric Measurement Techniques 7045-7067 14 11 Journal article Peer reviewed 2021 ftunivbergen https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7045-2021 2023-03-14T17:43:17Z 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-i instrument using flasks of atmospheric air collected within the nose cone of the UAV. The internal repeatability for δD and δ18O 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. publishedVersion Article in Journal/Newspaper East Greenland East Greenland Ice-core Project Greenland Greenland ice core Greenland Ice core Project ice core Ice Sheet University of Bergen: Bergen Open Research Archive (BORA-UiB) Greenland Atmospheric Measurement Techniques 14 11 7045 7067 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Bergen: Bergen Open Research Archive (BORA-UiB) |
op_collection_id |
ftunivbergen |
language |
English |
description |
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-i instrument using flasks of atmospheric air collected within the nose cone of the UAV. The internal repeatability for δD and δ18O 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. publishedVersion |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Rozmiarek, Kevin S. Vaughn, Bruce H. Jones, Tyler R. Morris, Valerie Skorski, William B. Hughes, Abigail G. Elston, Jack Wahl, Sonja Faber, Anne-Katrine Steen-Larsen, Hans Christian |
spellingShingle |
Rozmiarek, Kevin S. Vaughn, Bruce H. Jones, Tyler R. Morris, Valerie Skorski, William B. Hughes, Abigail G. Elston, Jack Wahl, Sonja Faber, Anne-Katrine Steen-Larsen, Hans Christian An unmanned aerial vehicle sampling platform for atmospheric water vapor isotopes in polar environments |
author_facet |
Rozmiarek, Kevin S. Vaughn, Bruce H. Jones, Tyler R. Morris, Valerie Skorski, William B. Hughes, Abigail G. Elston, Jack Wahl, Sonja Faber, Anne-Katrine Steen-Larsen, Hans Christian |
author_sort |
Rozmiarek, Kevin S. |
title |
An unmanned aerial vehicle sampling platform for atmospheric water vapor isotopes in polar environments |
title_short |
An unmanned aerial vehicle sampling platform for atmospheric water vapor isotopes in polar environments |
title_full |
An unmanned aerial vehicle sampling platform for atmospheric water vapor isotopes in polar environments |
title_fullStr |
An unmanned aerial vehicle sampling platform for atmospheric water vapor isotopes in polar environments |
title_full_unstemmed |
An unmanned aerial vehicle sampling platform for atmospheric water vapor isotopes in polar environments |
title_sort |
unmanned aerial vehicle sampling platform for atmospheric water vapor isotopes in polar environments |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2986673 https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7045-2021 |
geographic |
Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Greenland |
genre |
East Greenland East Greenland Ice-core Project Greenland Greenland ice core Greenland Ice core Project ice core Ice Sheet |
genre_facet |
East Greenland East Greenland Ice-core Project Greenland Greenland ice core Greenland Ice core Project ice core Ice Sheet |
op_source |
Atmospheric Measurement Techniques 7045-7067 14 11 |
op_relation |
urn:issn:1867-1381 https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2986673 https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7045-2021 cristin:1953650 Atmospheric Measurement Techniques. 2021, 14 (11), 7045-7067. |
op_rights |
Navngivelse 4.0 Internasjonal http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.no Copyright Author(s) 2021 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7045-2021 |
container_title |
Atmospheric Measurement Techniques |
container_volume |
14 |
container_issue |
11 |
container_start_page |
7045 |
op_container_end_page |
7067 |
_version_ |
1766399574754197504 |