Black Swift Technologies has released an application note detailing how the company’s Black Swift S2 fixed-wing UAS (unmanned aerial system) has been used to develop effective methods of horizontal ozone gas profiling in the atmosphere.
Read the full application note on BST’s website
Ozone levels are much higher within a few hundred meters of the Earth’s surface, beyond the level of fixed air monitoring stations. Multi-rotor UAS or weather balloons can be used to obtain vertical atmospheric profiles, but these fail to provide a more thorough snapshot of conditions over a broad area of interest.
EN-SCI, a leader in scientific ozone measurement, was searching for a cost-effective way to capture a wider profile in order to measure threats to the ozone layer. The Black Swift S2 caught the attention of the company due to its flight management software, which allows the UAS to autonomously fly over active volcanoes while conducting horizontal volumetric profiling of trace gases.
The S2 also features a unique modular field-swappable payload system that positions the sensors in front of the propeller, completely enclosing the sensor suite and associated hardware within the nose cone and ensuring clean and uncontaminated atmospheric measurements.
EN-SCI and BST flew the S2 in a volumetric sampling pattern that was automatically generated to collect data after specifying the area of interest, altitude bounds, and flight track spacing. For this particular application, grid mapping was performed at 200 feet, 300 feet, and 400 feet AGL (above ground level).
To learn more about horizontal gas profiling and the Black Swift S2 fixed-wing UAS, read the full application note on BST’s website.
