The Multi-Purpose Airborne Sensor Carrier MASC-3 for Wind and Turbulence Measurements in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer
For atmospheric boundary-layer (ABL) studies, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) can provide new information in addition to traditional in-situ measurements, or by ground- or satellite-based remote sensing techniques. The ability of fixed-wing UAS to transect the ABL in short time supplement ground-bas...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2019-05-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/19/10/2292 |
| _version_ | 1828153346114977792 |
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| author | Alexander Rautenberg Martin Schön Kjell zum Berge Moritz Mauz Patrick Manz Andreas Platis Bram van Kesteren Irene Suomi Stephan T. Kral Jens Bange |
| author_facet | Alexander Rautenberg Martin Schön Kjell zum Berge Moritz Mauz Patrick Manz Andreas Platis Bram van Kesteren Irene Suomi Stephan T. Kral Jens Bange |
| author_sort | Alexander Rautenberg |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | For atmospheric boundary-layer (ABL) studies, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) can provide new information in addition to traditional in-situ measurements, or by ground- or satellite-based remote sensing techniques. The ability of fixed-wing UAS to transect the ABL in short time supplement ground-based measurements and the ability to extent the data horizontally and vertically allows manifold investigations. Thus, the measurements can provide many new possibilities for investigating the ABL. This study presents the new mark of the Multi-Purpose Airborne Sensor Carrier (MASC-3) for wind and turbulence measurements and describes the subsystems designed to improve the wind measurement, to gain endurance and to allow operations under an enlarged range of environmental conditions. The airframe, the capabilities of the autopilot Pixhawk 2.1, the sensor system and the data acquisition software, as well as the post-processing software, provide the basis for flight experiments and are described in detail. Two flights in a stable boundary-layer and a close comparison to a measurement tower and a Sodar system depict the accuracy of the wind speed and direction measurements, as well as the turbulence measurements. Mean values, variances, covariance, turbulent kinetic energy and the integral length scale agree well with measurements from a meteorological measurement tower. MASC-3 performs valuable measurements of stable boundary layers with high temporal resolution and supplements the measurements of meteorological towers and sodar systems. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T22:23:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-72f32d33791d4a2b823e390737e91b4e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T22:23:47Z |
| publishDate | 2019-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-72f32d33791d4a2b823e390737e91b4e2022-12-22T03:59:55ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202019-05-011910229210.3390/s19102292s19102292The Multi-Purpose Airborne Sensor Carrier MASC-3 for Wind and Turbulence Measurements in the Atmospheric Boundary LayerAlexander Rautenberg0Martin Schön1Kjell zum Berge2Moritz Mauz3Patrick Manz4Andreas Platis5Bram van Kesteren6Irene Suomi7Stephan T. Kral8Jens Bange9Center for Applied Geoscience, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Hölderlinstr. 12, 72074 Tübingen, GermanyCenter for Applied Geoscience, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Hölderlinstr. 12, 72074 Tübingen, GermanyCenter for Applied Geoscience, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Hölderlinstr. 12, 72074 Tübingen, GermanyCenter for Applied Geoscience, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Hölderlinstr. 12, 72074 Tübingen, GermanyCenter for Applied Geoscience, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Hölderlinstr. 12, 72074 Tübingen, GermanyCenter for Applied Geoscience, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Hölderlinstr. 12, 72074 Tübingen, GermanyCenter for Applied Geoscience, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Hölderlinstr. 12, 72074 Tübingen, GermanyFinnish Meteorological Institute, P.O. Box 503, 00101 Helsinki, FinlandGeophysical Institute and Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, University of Bergen, Postbox 7803, 5020 Bergen, NorwayCenter for Applied Geoscience, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Hölderlinstr. 12, 72074 Tübingen, GermanyFor atmospheric boundary-layer (ABL) studies, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) can provide new information in addition to traditional in-situ measurements, or by ground- or satellite-based remote sensing techniques. The ability of fixed-wing UAS to transect the ABL in short time supplement ground-based measurements and the ability to extent the data horizontally and vertically allows manifold investigations. Thus, the measurements can provide many new possibilities for investigating the ABL. This study presents the new mark of the Multi-Purpose Airborne Sensor Carrier (MASC-3) for wind and turbulence measurements and describes the subsystems designed to improve the wind measurement, to gain endurance and to allow operations under an enlarged range of environmental conditions. The airframe, the capabilities of the autopilot Pixhawk 2.1, the sensor system and the data acquisition software, as well as the post-processing software, provide the basis for flight experiments and are described in detail. Two flights in a stable boundary-layer and a close comparison to a measurement tower and a Sodar system depict the accuracy of the wind speed and direction measurements, as well as the turbulence measurements. Mean values, variances, covariance, turbulent kinetic energy and the integral length scale agree well with measurements from a meteorological measurement tower. MASC-3 performs valuable measurements of stable boundary layers with high temporal resolution and supplements the measurements of meteorological towers and sodar systems.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/19/10/2292fixed-wing unmanned aircraftturbulence measurement3D wind vector measurementstable boundary layercomparison with measurement towerunmanned aircraft system (UAS)remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) |
| spellingShingle | Alexander Rautenberg Martin Schön Kjell zum Berge Moritz Mauz Patrick Manz Andreas Platis Bram van Kesteren Irene Suomi Stephan T. Kral Jens Bange The Multi-Purpose Airborne Sensor Carrier MASC-3 for Wind and Turbulence Measurements in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer Sensors fixed-wing unmanned aircraft turbulence measurement 3D wind vector measurement stable boundary layer comparison with measurement tower unmanned aircraft system (UAS) remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) |
| title | The Multi-Purpose Airborne Sensor Carrier MASC-3 for Wind and Turbulence Measurements in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer |
| title_full | The Multi-Purpose Airborne Sensor Carrier MASC-3 for Wind and Turbulence Measurements in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer |
| title_fullStr | The Multi-Purpose Airborne Sensor Carrier MASC-3 for Wind and Turbulence Measurements in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Multi-Purpose Airborne Sensor Carrier MASC-3 for Wind and Turbulence Measurements in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer |
| title_short | The Multi-Purpose Airborne Sensor Carrier MASC-3 for Wind and Turbulence Measurements in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer |
| title_sort | multi purpose airborne sensor carrier masc 3 for wind and turbulence measurements in the atmospheric boundary layer |
| topic | fixed-wing unmanned aircraft turbulence measurement 3D wind vector measurement stable boundary layer comparison with measurement tower unmanned aircraft system (UAS) remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/19/10/2292 |
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