Open Access

Caroline Brosy

• Unmanned aerial vehicles gained importance in atmospheric research over the last years. They provide a suitable alternative to well-known groundbased and airborne techniques for investigations in the planetary boundary layer (PBL). This is the part of the atmosphere which is mostly and directly influenced by the characteristics of the Earth’s surface including cities, forests, wetlands, agricultural areas or water. Diurnal and seasonal variations within this layer can be traced back to interactions between the heterogeneous surface and differences in the energy input from the sun. The challenge of merging local- to regional-scale measurements of atmospheric compounds in the PBL is crucial, especially for the up- and down-scaling of processes in atmospheric modeling. It could be shown that multicopter platforms provide a high flexibility in application and operation for atmospheric research. This is especially the case for small-scale investigations in the lower PBL and forUnmanned aerial vehicles gained importance in atmospheric research over the last years. They provide a suitable alternative to well-known groundbased and airborne techniques for investigations in the planetary boundary layer (PBL). This is the part of the atmosphere which is mostly and directly influenced by the characteristics of the Earth’s surface including cities, forests, wetlands, agricultural areas or water. Diurnal and seasonal variations within this layer can be traced back to interactions between the heterogeneous surface and differences in the energy input from the sun. The challenge of merging local- to regional-scale measurements of atmospheric compounds in the PBL is crucial, especially for the up- and down-scaling of processes in atmospheric modeling. It could be shown that multicopter platforms provide a high flexibility in application and operation for atmospheric research. This is especially the case for small-scale investigations in the lower PBL and for interrelations between land surface and atmosphere as seen on the basis of evapotranspiration and methane emission estimates. The most important advantages of using multicopters were the flexibility of measurements with high spatial and temporal resolution as well as the repeatable investigations in stationary atmospheric conditions without influencing the ecosystem itself.…