EMBRACE-AGS-Growth: Development and Integration of an Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) Vertical Profiler to Probe Air Pollution at the Lake Michigan Shoreline

This EMBRACE Growth project is focused on the influence of a lake-breeze aloft on the distribution of pollutants using uncrewed aerial systems (UAS). The project will assess the shoreline abundances of ozone (O3) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) near Lake Michigan and develop instrumentation and field campaign strategies to assess the mesoscale meteorological circulation patterns that recirculate high ozone over land.

The results of this work will be of interest to regulatory agencies, air quality modelers, regulated industries and citizens.

Correlation between poor air quality and lake breeze intensity in coastal Great Lake communities has been established and studied for more than 40-years. High O3 concentrations tend to be episodic over water, where advection of ample O3 precursor emissions occurs from the nighttime land-breeze circulation.

In combination with surface-based monitoring stations, the UAS-based measurements in this project will provide data to: (1) investigate differences between lake breeze events setting up under offshore and onshore synoptic states, and their impact on coastal pollutant concentrations; (2) study the roles of mixing at interfaces between different atmospheric layers and their influence near-surface O3 and NO2 concentrations; and (3) develop a conceptual model of the influence of shoreline circulations and their temporal and spatial evolution and how it impacts the vertical structure of O3 and NO2 observations. The project includes a collaboration with NOAA in the building of the NO2 instrument, and collaboration with Purdue University for student training in FAA regulations and certifications and field campaign management strategies for the UAS.

This project will enhance the capacity for research at the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire. It will also build key skills for undergraduate students in atmospheric science and enable the PI to serve as a valuable partner for future research projects beyond the lifetime of the grant.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.