University of Kentucky measurements of wind, temperature, pressure and humidity in support of LAPSE-RATE using multisite fixed-wing and rotorcraft unmanned aerial systems

• Published in: Earth system science data 2020-08, Vol.12 (3), p.1759-1773
• Main Authors: Bailey, Sean C. C, Sama, Michael P, Canter, Caleb A, Pampolini, L. Felipe, Lippay, Zachary S, Schuyler, Travis J, Hamilton, Jonathan D, MacPhee, Sean B, Rowe, Isaac S, Sanders, Christopher D, Smith, Virginia G, Vezzi, Christina N, Wight, Harrison M, Hoagg, Jesse B, Guzman, Marcelo I, Smith, Suzanne Weaver
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accuracy; Air temperature; Aircraft; Atmospheric sciences; Boundary layer transition; Boundary layers; Calibration; Canyons; Convection; Data; Digitization; Drone aircraft; Elevation; ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; Fixed wings; Ground level; Humidity; Laboratories; Lower atmosphere; Measurement; Profiles; Remotely piloted aircraft; Researchers; Rotary wing aircraft; Sensors; Unmanned aerial vehicles; Unmanned helicopters; Valleys; Velocity; Vertical profiles; Wind; Wind measurement; Wind speed; Wings
• ISSN: 1866-3516; 1866-3508; 1866-3516
• DOI: 10.5194/essd-12-1759-2020

In July 2018, unmanned aerial systems (UASs) were deployed to measure the properties of the lower atmosphere within the San Luis Valley, an elevated valley in Colorado, USA, as part of the Lower Atmospheric Profiling Studies at Elevation – a Remotely-piloted Aircraft Team Experiment (LAPSE-RATE). Measurement objectives included detailing boundary layer transition, canyon cold-air drainage and convection initiation within the valley. Details of the contribution to LAPSE-RATE made by the University of Kentucky are provided here, which include measurements by seven different fixed-wing and rotorcraft UASs totaling over 178 flights with validated data. The data from these coordinated UAS flights consist of thermodynamic and kinematic variables (air temperature, humidity, pressure, wind speed and direction) and include vertical profiles up to 900 m above the ground level and horizontal transects up to 1500 m in length. These measurements have been quality controlled and are openly available in the Zenodo LAPSE-RATE community data repository (https://zenodo.org/communities/lapse-rate/, last access: 23 July 2020), with the University of Kentucky data available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3701845 (Bailey et al., 2020).