Drone measurements of surface-based winter temperature inversions in the High Arctic at Eureka

Abstract

Abstract. The absence of sunlight during the winter in the High Arctic results in a strong surface-based atmospheric temperature inversion, especially during clear skies and light surface wind conditions. The inversion suppresses turbulent heat transfer between the ground and the boundary layer. As a result, the difference between the surface air temperature, measured at a height of 2 m, and the ground skin temperature can exceed several degrees Celsius. Such inversions occur very frequently in polar regions, are of interest to understand the mechanisms responsible for surface–atmosphere heat, mass, and momentum exchanges, and are critical for satellite validation studies. In this paper we present the results of operations of two commercial remotely piloted aircraft systems, or drones, at the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory, Eureka, Nunavut, Canada, at 80∘ N latitude. The drones are the Matrice 100 and Matrice 210 RTK quadcopters manufactured by DJI and were flown over Eureka during the February–March field campaigns in 2017 and 2020. They were equipped with a temperature measurement system built on a Raspberry Pi single-board computer, three platinum-wire temperature sensors, a Global Navigation Satellite System receiver, and a barometric altimeter. We demonstrate that the drones can be effectively used in the extremely challenging High Arctic conditions to measure vertical temperature profiles up to 75 m above the ground and sea ice surface at ambient temperatures down to −46 ∘C. Our results indicate that the inversion lapse rates within the 0–10 m altitude range above the ground can reach values of ∼ 10–30 ∘C(100m)-1 (∼ 100–300 ∘Ckm-1). The results are in good agreement with the coincident surface air temperatures measured at 2, 6, and 10 m levels at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration flux tower at the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory. Above 10 m more gradual inversion with order-of-magnitude smaller lapse rates is recorded by the drone. This inversion lapse rate agrees well with the results obtained from the radiosonde temperature measurements. Above the sea ice drone temperature profiles are found to have an isothermal layer above a surface-based layer of instability, which is attributed to the heat flux through the sea ice. With the drones we were able to evaluate the influence of local topography on the surface-based inversion structure above the ground and to measure extremely cold temperatures of air that can pool in topographic depressions. The unique technical challenges of conducting drone campaigns in the winter High Arctic are highlighted in the paper.

Vertical distribution of aerosol particle concentration in the atmosphere at temperature inversion

“…Vertical sounding was carried out using a DJI Matrice 210 quadcopter, on which payload equipment was placed for measuring air parameters [7] and equipment for video recording of smog and smoke pollution. The starting point of the UAV was located in the area of Akademgorodok (Krasnoyarsk), 55.987976N, 92.761559E, altitude 256.3 m.…”

“…Researchers design and create various UAVs and payload equipment for them, solve various tasks [4][5][6]. In some cases, it is necessary to develop additional non-standard devices to ensure the drone's operability in difficult conditions [7,8]. Various issues and tasks of research on this topic are considered in many works [9][10][11].…”

Rotary-wing drone-induced flow – comparison of simulations with lidar measurements

“…Since the beginning of the 21st century, uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) with rotary wings have become more popular for conducting atmospheric measurements (Hemingway et al, 2017;Leuenberger et al, 2020;Tikhomirov et al, 2021) due to their flexibility in orienting, precise hovering capabilities, and ease of deployment. Wind velocity and direction can be reconstructed either from the avionic information of UAVs alone (Neumann and Bartholmai, 2015;Palomaki et al, 2017;Segales et al, 2020;Wetz et al, 2021;González-Rocha et al, 2023) or from the wind sensors mounted on the UAVs.…”

The vertical atmospheric structure of the partially glacierised Mittivakkat valley, southeast Greenland

“…However, understanding the complex relationship between temperature inversions and glacier ablation remains difficult and requires further research. The recent development of small, lightweight and low-cost unoccupied aerial vehicles (UAVs) equipped with meteorological sensors open up new opportunities for (micro-)meteorological measurements (Elston and others, 2015; Villa and others, 2016; Kral and others, 2018; Kimball and others, 2020; Tikhomirov and others, 2021; Pina and Vieira, 2022). The advantages of UAV-based measurements include low operating costs per single atmospheric profile, fine vertical resolution, spatial flexibility, good control over flight parameters, less manpower, ease of operation and low environmental impact.…”

“…Kral and others (2018) probed the atmospheric column from the surface to an altitude of 1800 m with different UAVs during 3 weeks in February 2017 over sea ice in Finland. Also, Tikhomirov and others (2021) investigated the suitability of UAVs to observe the Arctic planetary boundary layer in February to March in Nunavut, Canada. All these studies were able to measure the vertical stratification during different meteorological situations in a high vertical resolution, proving the suitability of UAVs as a tool to gain more insight into the dynamics and properties of the atmosphere.…”