The effect of atmospheric surface layer turbulent structures on aerially applied agricultural sprays

Movement of aerosols in plumes generated by aerial spray operations is an important problem for agriculture, forestry and homeland security reasons. This paper reports on the results of an aerial spray field study conducted at a test site near College Station, Texas. Spray from a fixed wing AgHusky with conventional nozzles flying across card and string sampler arrays was also measured remotely with the University of Connecticut aerosol lidar. Lidar measurements show small droplet plume drift and rise under convective daytime conditions. Spectral analysis of corresponding meteorological data shows a turbulence length scale which corresponds to off target spray movement.