Maldives AUAV Campaign (MAC): Observing Aerosol-Cloud-Radiation Interactions Simultaneously from Three Stacked Autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (AUAVs)

马尔代夫 AUAV 活动 (MAC)：从三架堆叠式自主无人机 (AUAV) 同时观察气溶胶-云-辐射相互作用

• 批准号: 0542531
• 负责人: Veerabhadran Ramanathan
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of California-San Diego Scripps Inst of Oceanography
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2005
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2005-11-01 至 2007-10-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0542531&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Maldives; AUAV; Campaign; MAC; Observing

The fundamental science objective of the Maldives AUAV Campaign (MAC) is to provide new insights into how aerosols and clouds regulate the planetary albedo, with particular emphasis on how anthropogenic aerosols are modifying the albedo of cloudy skies (the so-called "indirect effect"). MAC also will be able to estimate solar absorption by clouds and to measure the dependence of that absorption on the amount of absorbing aerosols. One of the fundamental challenges of observing how aerosols modulate cloud microphysics and cloud albedo is the need to observe the same cloud element simultaneously from below, above, and inside the cloud; i.e., to measure how much aerosol is being transported to the cloud from below and from above; to measure how the cloud drop number density as a function of drop radius is changing in response to the injection of aerosols; and, finally, to observe how the cloud albedo, in-cloud solar absorption, and the transmission of solar radiation through the cloud to the cloud base is responding to the change in cloud microphysical properties. The PIs will undertake such a research mission with three identical lightweight Autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (AUAVs) outfitted with miniaturized instruments for measuring aerosols, cloud microphysics, and radiation. They will conduct a pilot demonstration mission from the Maldives Islands for a period of six weeks during the dry and polluted season through February and March, 2006. Prior to the Maldives Flight Campaign, the team will be performing domestic flight tests scheduled for October 2005. The flights will operate from the Maldives, located in the heavily polluted Arabian Sea.BROADER IMPACTS: The particular emphasis of MAC is to demonstrate that lightweight AUAVs and their miniaturized instruments are effective and inexpensive means of simultaneously sampling cloudy layers from all sides. MAC in-situ data will be used to validate NASA's A-Train constellation of satellites which perform near simultaneous measurements of aerosols, clouds, temperature, relative humidity, and radiative fluxes (the change of radiation in a layer). The potential educational and training that would result from the fieldwork and analyses phases of MAC adds an important broader impacts component to the project. Finally, MAC addresses one of the major outstanding issues in climate change science.

马尔代夫AUAV运动的基本科学目标是提供关于气溶胶和云如何调节地球大气环流的新见解，特别强调人为气溶胶如何改变多云天空的大气环流（所谓的“间接影响”）。MAC还将能够估计云层对太阳的吸收，并测量吸收对吸收气溶胶数量的依赖性。 观测气溶胶如何调节云微物理和云对流的基本挑战之一是需要同时从云的下方、上方和内部观测相同的云元素;即，测量有多少气溶胶从下面和上面被输送到云中;测量云滴数密度作为云滴半径的函数是如何响应气溶胶的注入而变化的;最后，观察云的散射、云中太阳吸收以及太阳辐射通过云到云底的传输是如何响应云微物理特性的变化的。PI将承担这样的研究使命，使用三个相同的轻型自主无人机（AUAV），配备小型化仪器，用于测量气溶胶，云微物理和辐射。他们将在2006年2月和3月的干旱和污染季节从马尔代夫群岛进行为期六周的试点示范使命。 在马尔代夫飞行活动之前，该小组将于2005年10月进行国内飞行测试。更广泛的影响：MAC的特别重点是证明轻型无人机及其小型化仪器是从四面八方同时对云层进行采样的有效且廉价的手段。 MAC现场数据将用于验证NASA的A-Train卫星星座，这些卫星几乎同时测量气溶胶、云、温度、相对湿度和辐射通量（一层辐射的变化）。 MAC的实地工作和分析阶段可能产生的教育和培训为该项目增加了一个重要的更广泛的影响部分。 最后，MAC解决了气候变化科学中的一个主要悬而未决的问题。