Site assessment and selection
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Maintenance and calibration
Every now and then something unexpected happens. It’s important to check and maintain our instruments in order to exploit our weather windows. Some of our Bebop quadcopters have been a bit unstable lately. Instead of staying at the programmed altitude, they have been oscillating up and down with a vertical distance of up to 8 Read More …
Sounds of Science: Episode 5 – ANSWER
If you noticed a distinct similarity between the last two clues, congratulations. Today’s sounds come from another quadcopter, the sleek Q17 from the University of Applied Science Ostwestfalen-Lippe.
Beauty and Beast
Frost, ice and riming transform trees, brushes and grass into beautiful pieces of art. But as soon as it forms on our aircraft and sensors, this beauty rapidly fades away. Keeping the windows of lidar and LICOR, and the inlets of our aspirated temperature sensors ice free is therefore a continuos struggle.
Blue skies, smiling on me. Nothing but blue skies, do I see.
They say that when it rains, it pours. Or in our case, the exact opposite. Multiple models continue to forecast clear, cold, and calm conditions until 2:00 am tonight. So, with sleepy determination, we again prepare and make ourselves ready for IOP4. Our motivation is also driven by the extended forecast; cloudier nights ahead in Read More …
Sunrise
Here an impression from our daily morning walk to replace the battery of the FMI sodar. A beautiful sunrise, even decorated by a sun dog. Our IOP3 was terminated around 5 local time this night, as fog came in and caused considerable icing on the propellers, wings and sensors of our aircraft. A safe and responsible Read More …
Sounds of Science: Episode 5
So after back-to-back IOPs, our energy levels are running low; we’re mostly running on coffee and Tupla bars. Our instruments are still going strong though, as you can hear in today’s Sounds of Science audio clue.
Sounds of Science: Episode 4 – ANSWER
You’re hearing the B2Met quadcopter, based on the Parrot Bebop 2 platform. The Geophyiscal Institute in Bergen is investigating it’s potential use as a low-cost, atmospheric profiler for temperature, humidity and winds.
Once more, from the top…
IOP02 is mere hours behind us, but we again set our sights on the coming night. With the chance that it will be even colder and clearer than yesterday, while being just as calm, it is an opportunity that we can not pass up. Yesterday’s IOP was a rigorous one, with low-level vertical profiles of Read More …
Sounds of Science: Episode 4
With IOP02 behind us, we’re moving on to a Sound of Science audio clue that might be a little easier. You may have even heard it before. Comment below and show us what you’ve got!
Sounds of Science: Episode 3 – ANSWER
Today struck a similar note (pun intended) as Episode 1, with the audio clip coming from our Vertically pointing Sodar. That’s right, we science so thoroughly that we have TWO Sodars.