Observations of the atmosphere and surface state over Terra Nova Bay, Antarctica, using unmanned aerial systems

Observations of the atmosphere and surface state over Terra Nova Bay, Antarctica, using unmanned aerial systems

In September 2012 five Aerosonde unmanned aircraft were used to make measurements of the atmospheric state over the Terra Nova Bay polynya, Antarctica, to explore the details of air–sea ice–ocean coupling. A total of 14 flights were completed in September 2012. Ten of the flight missions consisted o...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Earth system science data Vol. 8; no. 1; pp. 115 - 126
Main Authors: Cassano, John J, Seefeldt, Mark W, Palo, Scott, Knuth, Shelley L, Bradley, Alice C, Herrman, Paul D, Kernebone, Peter A, Logan, Nick J
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Katlenburg-Lindau Copernicus GmbH 18-03-2016
Copernicus Publications
Subjects:
Air masses
Air temperature
Aircraft
Analysis
Atmosphere
Cold
Data
Datasets
Drone aircraft
Flight
Flight tests
Heat
Ice shelves
Insurance syndicates
Land ice
Missions
Ocean-atmosphere interaction
Polynyas
Reinsurance
Sea ice
Sensors
Skin
Skin temperature
Temperature (air-sea)
Unmanned aerial vehicles
Unmanned aircraft
Weather
Wind
Winds
Antarctica
Ross Sea
Ross Island
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In September 2012 five Aerosonde unmanned aircraft were used to make measurements of the atmospheric state over the Terra Nova Bay polynya, Antarctica, to explore the details of air–sea ice–ocean coupling. A total of 14 flights were completed in September 2012. Ten of the flight missions consisted of two unmanned aerial systems (UAS) sampling the atmosphere over Terra Nova Bay on 5 different days, with one UAS focusing on the downwind evolution of the air mass and a second UAS flying transects roughly perpendicular to the low-level winds. The data from these coordinated UAS flights provide a comprehensive three-dimensional data set of the atmospheric state (air temperature, humidity, pressure, and wind) and surface skin temperature over Terra Nova Bay. The remaining UAS flights during the September 2012 field campaign included two local flights near McMurdo Station for flight testing, a single UAS flight to Terra Nova Bay, and a single UAS flight over the Ross Ice Shelf and Ross Sea polynya. A data set containing the atmospheric and surface data as well as operational aircraft data have been submitted to the United States Antarctic Program Data Coordination Center (USAP-DCC, http://www.usap-data.org/) for free access (http://gcmd.nasa.gov/getdif.htm?NSF-ANT10-43657, doi:10.15784/600125).
ISSN:1866-3516
1866-3508
1866-3516
DOI:10.5194/essd-8-115-2016