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Wu C, Liu B, Wu D, Yang H, Mao X, Tan J, Liang Y, Sun JY, Xia R, Sun J, He G, Li M, Deng T, Zhou Z, Li YJ. Vertical profiling of black carbon and ozone using a multicopter unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in urban Shenzhen of South China. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 801:149689. [PMID: 34425446 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149689] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2021] [Revised: 08/11/2021] [Accepted: 08/11/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Existing studies on vertical profiling of black carbon (BC) and ozone (O3) were mainly conducted in the rural areas, leading to limited knowledge of their vertical distributions in the urban area. To fill this knowledge gap, vertical profiling (0-500 m and 0-900 m, AGL) of BC and O3 was conducted in a highly urbanized area of Shenzhen in subtropical South China using a multicopter unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platform. In total 32 flights were conducted from the 10th to 15th, December 2017 (winter campaign) and 42 flights from the 19th to 28th, August 2018 (summer campaign) with 4 time slots per day, including morning, afternoon, evening, and midnight. In general, equivalent BC (eBC) concentration decreased as the height increased with an overall slope of -0.13 μg m-3 per 100 m in the winter campaign and -0.08 μg m-3 per 100 m in the summer campaign. On the contrary, an increase of O3 level with altitude was observed (7.8 ppb per 100 m). Absorption Ångström exponent (AAE) exhibits a slightly increasing trend with height. Seasonality of eBC vertical profiles was observed in morning, afternoon and midnight flights, but not for evening flights. The analysis showed the shape of vertical profiles of eBC and O3 can be affected by planetary boundary layer height (PBLH) and air mass origin. Calculated heating rates due to BC show distinct seasonal variability for morning but not for afternoon, because of the counteracting effects by solar irradiance in the subtropical afternoon and eBC concentration in urban South China influenced by the monsoon climate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheng Wu
- Institute of Mass Spectrometry and Atmospheric Environment, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Research Center for On-line Source Apportionment System of Air Pollution, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China; Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Joint Laboratory of Collaborative Innovation for Environmental Quality, Guangzhou 510632, China.
| | - Ben Liu
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Centre for Regional Oceans, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Macau, Taipa, Macau
| | - Dui Wu
- Institute of Mass Spectrometry and Atmospheric Environment, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Research Center for On-line Source Apportionment System of Air Pollution, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China; Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Joint Laboratory of Collaborative Innovation for Environmental Quality, Guangzhou 510632, China; Institute of Tropical and Marine Meteorology, CMA, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Honglong Yang
- Shenzhen Meteorological Bureau, CMA, Shenzhen 518040, China
| | - Xia Mao
- Shenzhen Meteorological Bureau, CMA, Shenzhen 518040, China
| | - Jian Tan
- Institute of Mass Spectrometry and Atmospheric Environment, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Research Center for On-line Source Apportionment System of Air Pollution, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China; Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Joint Laboratory of Collaborative Innovation for Environmental Quality, Guangzhou 510632, China
| | - Yue Liang
- Institute of Mass Spectrometry and Atmospheric Environment, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Research Center for On-line Source Apportionment System of Air Pollution, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China; Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Joint Laboratory of Collaborative Innovation for Environmental Quality, Guangzhou 510632, China
| | - Jia Yin Sun
- Institute of Mass Spectrometry and Atmospheric Environment, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Research Center for On-line Source Apportionment System of Air Pollution, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China; Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Joint Laboratory of Collaborative Innovation for Environmental Quality, Guangzhou 510632, China
| | - Rui Xia
- Institute of Mass Spectrometry and Atmospheric Environment, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Research Center for On-line Source Apportionment System of Air Pollution, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China; Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Joint Laboratory of Collaborative Innovation for Environmental Quality, Guangzhou 510632, China
| | - Jiaren Sun
- Key Laboratory of urban ecological Environmental Simulation and protection, South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of PRC, Guangzhou 510530, China
| | - Guowen He
- Institute of Mass Spectrometry and Atmospheric Environment, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Research Center for On-line Source Apportionment System of Air Pollution, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China; Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Joint Laboratory of Collaborative Innovation for Environmental Quality, Guangzhou 510632, China
| | - Mei Li
- Institute of Mass Spectrometry and Atmospheric Environment, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Research Center for On-line Source Apportionment System of Air Pollution, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China; Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Joint Laboratory of Collaborative Innovation for Environmental Quality, Guangzhou 510632, China
| | - Tao Deng
- Institute of Tropical and Marine Meteorology, CMA, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Zhen Zhou
- Institute of Mass Spectrometry and Atmospheric Environment, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Research Center for On-line Source Apportionment System of Air Pollution, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China; Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Joint Laboratory of Collaborative Innovation for Environmental Quality, Guangzhou 510632, China
| | - Yong Jie Li
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Centre for Regional Oceans, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Macau, Taipa, Macau.
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Shaw JT, Shah A, Yong H, Allen G. Methods for quantifying methane emissions using unmanned aerial vehicles: a review. PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. SERIES A, MATHEMATICAL, PHYSICAL, AND ENGINEERING SCIENCES 2021; 379:20200450. [PMID: 34565219 PMCID: PMC8473951 DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2020.0450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/12/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Methane is an important greenhouse gas, emissions of which have vital consequences for global climate change. Understanding and quantifying the sources (and sinks) of atmospheric methane is integral for climate change mitigation and emission reduction strategies, such as those outlined in the 2015 UN Paris Agreement on Climate Change. There are ongoing international efforts to constrain the global methane budget, using a wide variety of measurement platforms across a range of spatial and temporal scales. The advancements in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology over the past decade have opened up a new avenue for methane emission quantification. UAVs can be uniquely equipped to monitor natural and anthropogenic emissions at local scales, displaying clear advantages in versatility and manoeuvrability relative to other platforms. Their use is not without challenge, however: further miniaturization of high-performance methane instrumentation is needed to fully use the benefits UAVs afford. Developments in the models used to simulate atmospheric transport and dispersion across small, local scales are also crucial to improved flux accuracy and precision. This paper aims to provide an overview of currently available UAV-based technologies and sampling methodologies which can be used to quantify methane emission fluxes at local scales. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Rising methane: is warming feeding warming? (part 1)'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob T. Shaw
- Centre for Atmospheric Science, Department of Earth and Environmental Science, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Adil Shah
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE), CEA CNRS, UVSQ UPSACLAY, Gif sur Yvette, France
| | - Han Yong
- Centre for Atmospheric Science, Department of Earth and Environmental Science, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Grant Allen
- Centre for Atmospheric Science, Department of Earth and Environmental Science, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
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Burgués J, Marco S. Environmental chemical sensing using small drones: A review. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2020; 748:141172. [PMID: 32805561 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2020] [Revised: 07/08/2020] [Accepted: 07/20/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Recent advances in miniaturization of chemical instrumentation and in low-cost small drones are catalyzing exponential growth in the use of such platforms for environmental chemical sensing applications. The versatility of chemically sensitive drones is reflected by their rapid adoption in scientific, industrial, and regulatory domains, such as in atmospheric research studies, industrial emission monitoring, and in enforcement of environmental regulations. As a result of this interdisciplinarity, progress to date has been reported across a broad spread of scientific and non-scientific databases, including scientific journals, press releases, company websites, and field reports. The aim of this paper is to assemble all of these pieces of information into a comprehensive, structured and updated review of the field of chemical sensing using small drones. We exhaustively review current and emerging applications of this technology, as well as sensing platforms and algorithms developed by research groups and companies for tasks such as gas concentration mapping, source localization, and flux estimation. We conclude with a discussion of the most pressing technological and regulatory limitations in current practice, and how these could be addressed by future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javier Burgués
- Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Baldiri Reixac 10-12, 08028 Barcelona, Spain; Department of Electronics and Biomedical Engineering, Universitat de Barcelona, Marti i Franqués 1, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Santiago Marco
- Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Baldiri Reixac 10-12, 08028 Barcelona, Spain; Department of Electronics and Biomedical Engineering, Universitat de Barcelona, Marti i Franqués 1, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
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Wood K, Liu EJ, Richardson T, Clarke R, Freer J, Aiuppa A, Giudice G, Bitetto M, Mulina K, Itikarai I. BVLOS UAS Operations in Highly-Turbulent Volcanic Plumes. Front Robot AI 2020; 7:549716. [PMID: 33501316 PMCID: PMC7805736 DOI: 10.3389/frobt.2020.549716] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2020] [Accepted: 08/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Long-range, high-altitude Unoccupied Aerial System (UAS) operations now enable in-situ measurements of volcanic gas chemistry at globally-significant active volcanoes. However, the extreme environments encountered within volcanic plumes present significant challenges for both air frame development and in-flight control. As part of a multi-disciplinary field deployment in May 2019, we flew fixed wing UAS Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) over Manam volcano, Papua New Guinea, to measure real-time gas concentrations within the volcanic plume. By integrating aerial gas measurements with ground- and satellite-based sensors, our aim was to collect data that would constrain the emission rate of environmentally-important volcanic gases, such as carbon dioxide, whilst providing critical insight into the state of the subsurface volcanic system. Here, we present a detailed analysis of three BVLOS flights into the plume of Manam volcano and discuss the challenges involved in operating in highly turbulent volcanic plumes. Specifically, we report a detailed description of the system, including ground and air components, and flight plans. We present logged flight data for two successful flights to evaluate the aircraft performance under the atmospheric conditions experienced during plume traverses. Further, by reconstructing the sequence of events that led to the failure of the third flight, we identify a number of lessons learned and propose appropriate recommendations to reduce risk in future flight operations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kieran Wood
- Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Emma J. Liu
- Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Tom Richardson
- Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Robert Clarke
- Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Jim Freer
- School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
- University of Saskatchewan Centre for Hydrology, Canmore, AB, Canada
| | - Alessandro Aiuppa
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e del Mare, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Gaetano Giudice
- Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Osservatorio Etneo, Sezione di Catania, Catania, Italy
| | - Marcello Bitetto
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e del Mare, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Kila Mulina
- Rabaul Volcanological Observatory, Rabaul, Papua New Guinea
| | - Ima Itikarai
- Rabaul Volcanological Observatory, Rabaul, Papua New Guinea
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Suitability of a Non-Dispersive Infrared Methane Sensor Package for Flux Quantification Using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. SENSORS 2019; 19:s19214705. [PMID: 31671919 PMCID: PMC6864648 DOI: 10.3390/s19214705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2019] [Revised: 10/25/2019] [Accepted: 10/26/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Point-source methane emission flux quantification is required to help constrain the global methane budget. Facility-scale fluxes can be derived using in situ methane mole fraction sampling, near-to-source, which may be acquired from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platform. We test a new non-dispersive infrared methane sensor by mounting it onto a small UAV, which flew downwind of a controlled methane release. Nine UAV flight surveys were conducted on a downwind vertical sampling plane, perpendicular to mean wind direction. The sensor was first packaged in an enclosure prior to sampling which contained a pump and a recording computer, with a total mass of 1.0 kg. The packaged sensor was then characterised to derive a gain factor of 0.92 ± 0.07, independent of water mole fraction, and an Allan deviation precision (at 1 Hz) of ±1.16 ppm. This poor instrumental precision and possible short-term drifts made it non-trivial to define a background mole fraction during UAV surveys, which may be important where any measured signal is small compared to sources of instrumental uncertainty and drift. This rendered the sensor incapable of deriving a meaningful flux from UAV sampling for emissions of the order of 1 g s-1. Nevertheless, the sensor may indeed be useful when sampling mole fraction enhancements of the order of at least 10 ppm (an order of magnitude above the 1 Hz Allan deviation), either from stationary ground-based sampling (in baseline studies) or from mobile sampling downwind of sources with greater source flux than those observed in this study. While many methods utilising low-cost sensors to determine methane flux are being developed, this study highlights the importance of adequately characterising and testing all new sensors before they are used in scientific research.
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Schellenberg B, Richardson T, Watson M, Greatwood C, Clarke R, Thomas R, Wood K, Freer J, Thomas H, Liu E, Salama F, Chigna G. Remote sensing and identification of volcanic plumes using fixed‐wing UAVs over Volcán de Fuego, Guatemala. J FIELD ROBOT 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/rob.21896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ben Schellenberg
- Department of Aerospace EngineeringUniversity of Bristol Bristol UK
| | - Tom Richardson
- Department of Aerospace EngineeringUniversity of Bristol Bristol UK
| | - Matt Watson
- School of Earth SciencesUniversity of Bristol Bristol UK
| | - Colin Greatwood
- Department of Aerospace EngineeringUniversity of Bristol Bristol UK
| | - Robert Clarke
- Department of Aerospace EngineeringUniversity of Bristol Bristol UK
| | - Rick Thomas
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental SciencesUniversity of Birmingham Birmingham UK
| | - Kieran Wood
- Department of Aerospace EngineeringUniversity of Bristol Bristol UK
| | - Jim Freer
- School of Geographical SciencesUniversity of Bristol Bristol UK
| | - Helen Thomas
- School of Earth SciencesUniversity of Bristol Bristol UK
| | - Emma Liu
- Department of Earth SciencesUniversity of Cambridge Cambridge UK
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Design and Evaluation of Sensor Housing for Boundary Layer Profiling Using Multirotors. SENSORS 2019; 19:s19112481. [PMID: 31151280 PMCID: PMC6603538 DOI: 10.3390/s19112481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2019] [Revised: 05/22/2019] [Accepted: 05/27/2019] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Traditional configurations for mounting Temperature–Humidity (TH) sensors on multirotor Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs) often suffer from insufficient radiation shielding, exposure to mixed and turbulent air from propellers, and inconsistent aspiration while situated in the wake of the UAS. Descent profiles using traditional methods are unreliable (when compared to an ascent profile) due to the turbulent mixing of air by the UAS while descending into that flow field. Consequently, atmospheric boundary layer profiles that rely on such configurations are bias-prone and unreliable in certain flight patterns (such as descent). This article describes and evaluates a novel sensor housing designed to shield airborne sensors from artificial heat sources and artificial wet-bulbing while pulling air from outside the rotor wash influence. The housing is mounted above the propellers to exploit the rotor-induced pressure deficits that passively induce a high-speed laminar airflow to aspirate the sensor consistently. Our design is modular, accommodates a variety of other sensors, and would be compatible with a wide range of commercially available multirotors. Extensive flight tests conducted at altitudes up to 500 m Above Ground Level (AGL) show that the housing facilitates reliable measurements of the boundary layer phenomena and is invariant in orientation to the ambient wind, even at high vertical/horizontal speeds (up to 5 m/s) for the UAS. A low standard deviation of errors shows a good agreement between the ascent and descent profiles and proves our unique design is reliable for various UAS missions.
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Hutchinson M, Liu C, Chen W. Source term estimation of a hazardous airborne release using an unmanned aerial vehicle. J FIELD ROBOT 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/rob.21844] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Michael Hutchinson
- Department of Aeronautical and Automotive EngineeringLoughborough UniversityLeicestershire United Kingdom
| | - Cunjia Liu
- Department of Aeronautical and Automotive EngineeringLoughborough UniversityLeicestershire United Kingdom
| | - Wen‐Hua Chen
- Department of Aeronautical and Automotive EngineeringLoughborough UniversityLeicestershire United Kingdom
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