Design of a Small UAV Deployable Lidar Instrument for Real Time Plume Measurement

Atmospheric aerosols and fine aerosols particles (particulate matter 2.5, or PM2.5) have increasingly become the focus of air measurement systems due to their impacts on radiative forcing and health concerns. Many of these systems fall into one of two categories, either a spaceborne sensor (expensive, global perspective) or a ground based static point sensor such as PurpleAir (inexpensive, but one‑dimensional). Most locations are also not densely sampled by focused, consistent real-time measurements. This problem becomes even more pressing in regions impacted by events like wildfire smoke, which is highly dynamic, thus highlighting the need for a network of distributed aerosol profiling instruments to monitor such hazards effectively. We are developing a compact, low cost airborne lidar that will provide real-time vertically resolved aerosol plume heights and boundary layer structure. This solution leverages the advantages of backscatter lidar such as ability to operate during both day and night as well as the inherent vertical resolving power and couples them with the benefits of a deployable instrument (data where it’s needed, when it’s needed).

Low latency, vertically resolved aerosol distributions are a critical input for improving cloud, air quality, and aerosol transport models. The instrument is designed for use on unmanned aerial vehicles to collect high temporal and spatial resolution data over small areas, focusing on boundary layer structure and aerosol plumes. The ease of deployment and availability will allow its use in early detection scenarios as well as general pollution monitoring. This presentation will include the rationale, design, trade space, and implementation of the lidar instrument. We will also show the expected performance of our design.