Robot Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to Monitor Our Weather and Climate

Our fears of robot overlords and subservience aside, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has this week announced a three-year program to test UAV’s in monitoring the climate and weather of our planet.

The NOAA announced that the drone aircraft would be outfitted with sensors and technology specific to its research targets; predicting hurricane intensity, tracking and monitoring Arctic summer ice melt, and Pacific storms.

Three test projects are set to lead the way, in conjunction with Universities at Mississippi State, Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, and Maryland. From the NOAA press release;

Atlantic and Gulf Hurricanes: Between August 1 and October 31, small unmanned vehicles will fly into the eye of Atlantic and Caribbean hurricanes at low altitudes too risky for crewed aircraft. The data will help experts diagnose maximum wind speeds and storm physics to improve hurricane intensity forecasts.

Arctic Climate Change: Later this year, a larger unmanned aircraft will observe sea ice conditions and track the locations of seal populations as the climate warms. Ice and atmospheric data will help scientists figure out how clouds, soot, and other airborne particles are helping to melt Arctic ice faster than climate models project from greenhouse gases alone.Pacific and West Coast Storms: In spring 2009, both low- and high-altitude unmanned vehicles will fly over the Pacific to study “atmospheric rivers,” long arms of moisture from ocean storms that bring heavy rain and snow to the West Coast.

The data could help forecasters warn water resource managers in time to adjust reservoir levels and avoid flooding and will shed light on weather and climate processes that affect water resources across the arid west.Future missions, only in the planning stages, will focus on tracking Greenland glaciers, preserving natural resources, and providing firefighters with key information. Dirty work, unsuitable to humans, will also be the prerogative of these unmanned drones, such as investigating plumes of volcanic emissions and urban pollution (although the latter one seems somewhat ironic).

Unmanned planes such as these can on the one hand dwell in the sky above a storm or fire and on the other fly non-stop to locations such as Antarctica. Solar powered, they can fly for days at a time, and can be launched from ships at sea to gather information in remote regions.

Posted by Josh Hill.

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