the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Measurement Report: Vertically resolved Atmospheric Properties Observed over the Southern Great Plains with Uncrewed Aerial System – ArcticShark
Abstract. This study presents the unique capability of the DOE ArcticShark – a mid-size Uncrewed Aerial System (UAS) – for measuring vertically resolved atmospheric properties over the Southern Great Plains (SGP) of the United States. Focusing on atmospheric states and aerosol properties, we overview measurements from 32 research flights (~ 97 flight hours) carried out in 2023. Our data from March, June, and August 2023 reveal distinctive seasonal patterns within the atmospheric column through unique chemical composition measurements. These two measurement techniques— in situ and remote sensing— provide valuable insights into their consistency and complementarity. The August operations, aided by a visual observer on a chase plane, allowed for extensive UAS coverage, surpassing typical UAS operation envelopes. Furthermore, we demonstrate the capabilities of the ArcticShark through several case studies, including the analyses of correlations between UAS-derived atmospheric profiles and conventional radiosonde measurements, as well as the derivation of vertically resolved profiles of aerosol chemical, optical, and microphysical properties. These case studies highlight the versatility of the ArcticShark UAS as a powerful tool for comprehensive atmospheric research, effectively bridging data gaps and enhancing our understanding of vertical atmospheric structures in the region.
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Status: open (until 31 Dec 2024)
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RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-3089', Anonymous Referee #1, 09 Dec 2024
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The paper summarizes measurements made onboard the Arctic Shark above the SGP ARM site over a period of 3 years. The paper achieves its stated goal of demonstrating the use of the UAS for observations of meteorological and aerosol properties. The following comments should be addressed before publication.
Table 1: It would be helpful to add the actual instrument and manufacturer information to the table.
Measured particle size ranges should be provided for all in situ particle measurements.
Lines 122 – 123: What exactly is the ArcticShark chemical filter collecter? What filters are used? What is the size range?
Lines 156 – 158: How does the assumption of a uniform aerosol composition affect the removal of the influence of humidification from the extinction profiles and retrieval of the vertical CCN concentrations? The assumption is expected to have an impact on the accuracy of the retrievals for dust versus sulfate, for example.
Figure 2d: please provide the particle size range measured by the POPS.
Line 202: Please provide more details about the “haze environment” in August. Is this due to agricultural burning?
Line 207: Please provide the size range of the accumulation mode that is referred to here.
Line 208: With the chemical composition information couldn’t more said here about the importance of secondary particle formations and emissions from agricultural sources?
Figure 3 a and b: Any explanation for the offset between the AIMMS-30 and LICOR aboard the UAS?
Figure 3 c and d: Coefficients of determination show good agreement between the UAS and balloon wind direction and speed but there is a lot of spread in the data. Any explanation? How far apart were the two platforms?
Figure 4: How is the PBL height determined?
Lines 250 – 252 are redundant with lines 224 – 226.
There is a lot of repeated text between pages 11 and 12.
Line 264: Fight days in March? Should be flight days.
Table 2: are 4 to 5 significant figures warranted for reported O/C and H/C ratios?
Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3089-RC1
Data sets
ARM dataset for ACP paper Fan Mei https://adc.arm.gov/essd/ACP_Mei
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