Shipborne vertical profiles of dust aerosols obtained with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in the Mediterranean and the Middle East: First results ofthe AQABA campaign

International audienceAtmospheric aerosols have a large role in the earth climate through direct or indirect effects on the radiative energy budget. As the aerosol characteristics are highly variable spatially and in time, observations of these characteristics are needed in regions, where the climate change effects are the most severe. One of these types of hotspots is the East Mediterranean and Middle East (EMME region) (Lelieveld et al., 2012), however, high quality in-situ observations in the Middle East and Arabian Peninsula region are still missing. To gain such a high quality observations in this region, the "Air Quality and climate change in the Arabian Basin" (AQABA) oceanographic campaign was organized during summer 2017, shipping from France, through the Suez Canal and around the Arabian Peninsula to Kuwait and back to France. The total length of the campaign was more than 2 months. A wide spectrum of environmental conditions was encountered during the campaign, ranging from pristine conditions over the Indian Ocean, to dusty (low polluted) atmosphere in the Red Sea affected by the Saharan dust and the highly dusty and polluted Gulf. To add on the remote sensing data of aerosol characteristics above the sea surface collected on the ship, the Cyprus Institute's Unmanned Systems Research Laboratory (USRL) team deployed Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to gain in-situ observations of aerosol properties inside and above the marine boundary layer. A small, fixed wing UAV was hand launched from the ship, which then climbed up to 2000 m (a.s.l.) and then returned to the ship and landed on a net. A modified AlphaSense N-2 Optical Particle Counter (OPC) was used on board the UAV to observe the number size distribution of aerosol particles (range: 0.38-17.5 µm, with 16 channels). Meteorological parameters (T, RH and P), as well as a video was recorded also. A total of 16 Successful flights were made, mostly in the Mediterranean and in the Persian Gulf, with few flights in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea. The presentation will show data acquired on board the UAVs and comparison with ceilometer data obtained on the ship to identify possible dust layers and other interesting events. The differences in aerosol size distributions inside and above the boundary layer will be discussed, as well as any interesting case studies or events during the measurements

On-flight intercomparison of three miniature aerosol absorption sensors using unmanned aerial systems (UASs)

The present study investigates and compares the ground and in-flight performance of three miniaturized aerosol absorption sensors integrated on board small-sized Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs). These sensors were evaluated during two contrasted field campaigns performed at an urban site, impacted mainly by local traffic and domestic wood burning sources (Athens, Greece), and at a remote regional background site, impacted by long-range transported sources including dust (Cyprus Atmospheric Observatory, Agia Marina Xyliatou, Cyprus). The miniaturized sensors were first intercompared at the ground-level against two commercially available instruments used as a reference. The measured signal of the miniaturized sensors was converted into the absorption coefficient and equivalent black carbon concentration (eBC). When applicable, signal saturation corrections were applied, following the suggestions of the manufacturers. The aerosol absorption sensors exhibited similar behavior against the reference instruments during the two campaigns, despite the diversity of the aerosol origin, chemical composition, sources, and concentration levels. The deviation from the reference during both campaigns concerning (eBC) mass was less than 8 %, while for the absorption coefficient it was at least 15 %. This indicates that those sensors that report black carbon mass are tuned and corrected to measure eBC more accurately than the absorption coefficient. The overall potential use of miniature aerosol absorption sensors on board small UASs is also illustrated. UAS-based absorption measurements were used to investigate the vertical distribution of eBC over Athens up to 1 km above sea level during January 2016, exceeding the top of the planetary boundary layer (PBL). Our results reveal a heterogeneous boundary layer concentration of absorbing aerosol within the PBL intensified in the early morning hours due to the concurrent peak traffic emissions at ground-level and the fast development of the boundary layer. After the full development of the PBL, homogenous concentrations are observed from 100 m a.g.l. to the PBL top

Improvements of a low-cost CO2 commercial nondispersive near-infrared (NDIR) sensor for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) atmospheric mapping applications

International audienceUnmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) provide a cost-effective way to fill in gaps between surface in situ observations and remotely sensed data from space. In this study, a novel portable CO2 measuring system suitable for operations on board small-sized UAVs has been developed and validated. It is based on a low-cost commercial nondispersive near-infrared (NDIR) CO2 sensor (Senseair AB, Sweden), with a total weight of 1058 g, including batteries. The system performs in situ measurements autonomously, allowing for its integration into various platforms. Accuracy and linearity tests in the lab showed that the precision remains within ± 1 ppm (1σ) at 1 Hz. Corrections due to temperature and pressure changes were applied following environmental chamber experiments. The accuracy of the system in the field was validated against a reference instrument (Picarro, USA) on board a piloted aircraft and it was found to be ± 2 ppm (1σ) at 1 Hz and ± 1 ppm (1σ) at 1 min. Due to its fast response, the system has the capacity to measure CO2 mole fraction changes at 1 Hz, thus allowing the monitoring of CO2 emission plumes and of the characteristics of their spatial and temporal distribution. Details of the measurement system and field implementations are described to support future UAV platform applications for atmospheric trace gas measurements. Copyrigh