Improvements of a low-cost CO.sub.2 commercial nondispersive near-infrared atmospheric mapping applications

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) provide a cost-effective way to fill in gaps between surface in situ observations and remotely sensed data from space. In this study, a novel portable CO.sub.2 measuring system suitable for operations on board small-sized UAVs has been developed and validated. It is b...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inAtmospheric measurement techniques Vol. 15; no. 15; pp. 4431 - 8861
Main Authors Liu, Yunsong, Paris, Jean-Daniel, Vrekoussis, Mihalis, Antoniou, Panayiota, Constantinides, Christos, Desservettaz, Maximilien, Keleshis, Christos, Laurent, Olivier, Leonidou, Andreas, Philippon, Carole, Vouterakos, Panagiotis, Quéhé, Pierre-Yves, Bousquet, Philippe, Sciare, Jean
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Copernicus GmbH 02.08.2022
Subjects
Drone aircraft
Measuring instruments
Remote sensing
Sensors
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) provide a cost-effective way to fill in gaps between surface in situ observations and remotely sensed data from space. In this study, a novel portable CO.sub.2 measuring system suitable for operations on board small-sized UAVs has been developed and validated. It is based on a low-cost commercial nondispersive near-infrared (NDIR) CO.sub.2 sensor (Senseair AB, Sweden), with a total weight of 1058 g, including batteries. The system performs in situ measurements autonomously, allowing for its integration into various platforms. Accuracy and linearity tests in the lab showed that the precision remains within ± 1 ppm (1Ï) at 1 Hz. Corrections due to temperature and pressure changes were applied following environmental chamber experiments. The accuracy of the system in the field was validated against a reference instrument (Picarro, USA) on board a piloted aircraft and it was found to be ± 2 ppm (1Ï) at 1 Hz and ± 1 ppm (1Ï) at 1 min. Due to its fast response, the system has the capacity to measure CO.sub.2 mole fraction changes at 1 Hz, thus allowing the monitoring of CO.sub.2 emission plumes and of the characteristics of their spatial and temporal distribution. Details of the measurement system and field implementations are described to support future UAV platform applications for atmospheric trace gas measurements.
ISSN:1867-1381
1867-8548