Use of an uncrewed aerial system to investigate aerosol direct and indirect radiative forcing effects in the marine atmosphere

Abstract

An uncrewed aerial system (UAS) has been developed for observations of aerosol and cloud properties relevant to aerosol direct and indirect forcing in the marine atmosphere. The UAS is a Hybrid Quadrotor–fixed-wing aircraft designed for launch and recovery from a confined space such as a ship deck. Two payloads, clear sky and cloudy sky, house instrumentation required to characterize aerosol radiative forcing effects. The observing platform (UAS plus payloads) has been deployed from a ship and from a coastal site for observations in the marine atmosphere. We describe here details of the UAS, the payloads, and first observations from the TowBoatU.S. Richard L. Becker (March 2022) and from the Tillamook UAS Test Range (August 2022). The development of this UAS technology for flights from ships and coastal locations is expected to greatly increase observations of aerosol radiative effects in the marine boundary layer over both temporal and spatial scales.