Uncrewed Systems (UxS), including uncrewed aerial systems
(UAS) and tethered balloon/kite systems (TBS), are significantly expanding
observational capabilities in atmospheric science. Rapid adaptation of these
platforms and the advancement of miniaturized instruments have resulted in
an expanding number of datasets captured under various environmental
conditions by the Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation
Measurement (ARM) user facility. In 2021, observational data collected using
ARM UxS platforms, including seven TigerShark UAS flights and 133 tethered
balloon system (TBS) flights, were archived by the ARM Data Center
(https://adc.arm.gov/discovery/#/, last access: 11 February 2022) and made publicly
available at no cost for all registered users (https://doi.org/10.5439/1846798) (Mei and Dexheimer, 2022). These data
streams provide new perspectives on spatial variability of atmospheric and
surface parameters, helping to address critical science questions in Earth
system science research. This paper describes the DOE UAS/TBS
datasets, including information on the acquisition, collection, and quality
control processes, and highlights the potential scientific contributions
using UAS and TBS platforms.</p
