Autonomous Aerial Vehicles (AAVs) as a Tool for Improving the Spatial Resolution of Snow Albedo Measurements in Mountainous Regions
| Autor: | E. A. Sproles, Charles Gatebe, Andrew Mullen, Suzi Taylor, Jordy Hendrikx |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
Pyranometer
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences 0211 other engineering and technologies 02 engineering and technology snow Oceanography 01 natural sciences drones Autonomous Aerial Vehicles lcsh:Science Waste Management and Disposal Sea level 021101 geological & geomatics engineering 0105 earth and related environmental sciences Earth-Surface Processes Water Science and Technology Remote sensing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Elevation Snowpack Albedo Snow Temporal resolution Environmental science Satellite lcsh:Q mountain hydrology albedo |
| Zdroj: | Hydrology Volume 7 Issue 3 Hydrology, Vol 7, Iss 41, p 41 (2020) |
| ISSN: | 2306-5338 |
| DOI: | 10.3390/hydrology7030041 |
| Popis: | We present technical advances and methods to measure effective broadband physical albedo in snowy mountain headwaters using a prototype dual-sensor pyranometer mounted on an Autonomous Aerial Vehicle (an AAV). Our test flights over snowy meadows and forested areas performed well during both clear sky and snowy/windy conditions at an elevation of ~2650 m above mean sea level (MSL). Our AAV-pyranometer platform provided high spatial (m) and temporal resolution (sec) measurements of effective broadband (310&ndash 2700 nm) surface albedo. The AAV-based measurements reveal spatially explicit changes in landscape albedo that are not present in concurrent satellite measurements from Landsat and MODIS due to a higher spatial resolution. This AAV capability is needed for validation of satellite snow albedo products, especially over variable montane landscapes at spatial scales of critical importance to hydrological applications. Effectively measuring albedo is important, as annually the seasonal accumulation and melt of mountain snowpack represent a dramatic transformation of Earth&rsquo s albedo, which directly affects headwaters&rsquo water and energy cycles. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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