High Altitude Unmanned Air System for Atmospheric Science Missions

The ability to collect physical, chemical and biological observations across a wide range of altitudes is essential for an understanding of atmospheric processes across all length scales from global (Earth system modeling) through cyclonic (synoptic meteorology), all the way down to the mesoand micro-scale of localized phenomena. These are employed as boundary conditions or calibration targets in numerical models or as training data for statistical emulators of atmospheric variables. In either case, atmospheric science may require these observations at a range of altitudes from the planetary boundary layer all the way up to the upper layers of the stratosphere or even the mesosphere. Here are a few examples of applications where extensive atmospheric observations are of great importance, either on a routine basis or as part of targeted campaigns: