The evolution of disciplinary silos and increasingly narrow disciplinary boundaries have together resulted in one‐sided approaches to the study of land‐atmosphere interactions—a field that requires a bi‐directional approach to understand the complex feedbacks and interactions that occur. The integration of surface flux and atmospheric boundary layer measurements is therefore essential to advancing our understanding. The Land‐Atmosphere 2021 workshop (held virtually, June 10‐11, 2021) involved almost 300 participants from around the world and promoted cross‐discipline collaboration by way of talks from invited speakers, moderated discussions, breakout sessions, and a virtual poster session. The workshop focused on five main theme areas: “big picture” overview, instrumentation and remote sensing, modeling, water, and aerosols and clouds. In talks and breakout groups, there were frequent calls for more AmeriFlux sites to be instrumented for boundary layer height measurements, and for the development of some “super sites” where profiling instruments would be deployed. There was further agreement on the need for the standardization of various datasets. There was also a consensus that funding agencies need to be willing to support the sorts of large projects (including associated instrumentation) which can drive interdisciplinary work. Early‐career scientists, in particular, expressed enthusiasm for working across disciplinary boundaries but noted that there need to be more financial support and training opportunities so they would be better prepared for interdisciplinary work. Investment in these career development opportunities would enable today's cohort of early‐career scientists to advance the frontiers of interdisciplinary work over the next couple of decades.
Topographic and Landcover Influence on Lower Atmospheric Profiles Measured by Small Unoccupied Aerial Systems (sUAS)
Small unoccupied aerial systems (sUASs) are increasingly being used for field data collection and remote sensing purposes. Their ease of use, ability to carry sensors, low cost, and precise maneuverability and navigation make them a versatile tool for a field researcher. Procedures and instrumentation for sUASs are largely undefined, especially for atmospheric and hydrologic applications. The sUAS’s ability to collect atmospheric data for characterizing land–atmosphere interactions was examined at three distinct locations: Costa Rican rainforest, mountainous terrain in Georgia, USA, and land surfaces surrounding a lake in Florida, USA. This study aims to give further insight on rapid, sub-hourly changes in the planetary boundary layer and how land development alters land–atmosphere interactions. The methodology of using an sUAS for land–atmospheric remote sensing and data collection was developed and refined by considering sUAS wind downdraft influence and executing systematic flight patterns throughout the day. The sUAS was successful in gathering temperature and dew point data, including rapid variations due to changing weather conditions, at high spatial and temporal resolution over various land types, including water, forest, mountainous terrain, agriculture, and impermeable human-made surfaces. The procedure produced reliably consistent vertical profiles over small domains in space and time, validating the general approach. These findings suggest a healthy ability to diagnose land surface atmospheric interactions that influence the dynamic nature of the near-surface boundary layer.
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- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10295776
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Drones
- Volume:
- 5
- Issue:
- 3
- ISSN:
- 2504-446X
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 82
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.3390/drones5030082
