Flying Miniature Quad-Rotor Unmanned Aerial Systems over the Arctic Ocean
by Peter Guest, NPS Faculty, pguest(at)nps.edu This article describes meteorological measurements over the Arctic Ocean using a Miniature Quad-Rotor Unmanned Aerial System (MQRUAS). With support from the CRUSER program, the author and students have been testing the concept of using MQRUASs as platforms for measurements of temperature, humidity and pressure in the lower atmosphere using a radiosonde as a sensor. The author performed a series of tests at Camp Roberts that involved flying the InstantEye MQRUAS alongside a calibrated meteorological tower to test the accuracy of the measurements. These tests determined that such measurements were of sufficient accuracy and reliability to be used for scientific and operational studies of atmospheric structure near the surface. Figure 1: InstantEye taking off from the fantail of the R/V Sikuliaq An Office of Naval Research directed research initiative entitled “Sea State and Boundary Layers in the Emerging Arctic Ocean” (abbreviated