Supporting the future of airborne research Instrumented aircraft are an important scientific tool, allowing researchers to gather data on the Earth’s surface and atmosphere, yet such facilities are not always available in some countries. The EUFAR2 project helps widen access to airborne research facilities and supports the growth of the environmental science research community, as Philip Brown explains Research
aircraft offer rich opportunities for scientists to gather data and gain new insights, yet such aircraft are not always available in all European countries and are typically quite expensive to operate. Established in 2000, the EUFAR programme was designed to widen access to airborne research infrastructure among European scientists, and its scope has since widened further in EUFAR2. “Initially, EUFAR was simply a networking activity, amongst a number of different operators of research aircraft across Europe,” outlines Philip Brown, the scientific coordinator of EUFAR2. Alongside linking aircraft operators with key scientific users, the new contract under which EUFAR2 was funded includes provision for further activities. “The contract also provided us with money to run some joint research activities focussed on improving data quality,” explains Brown. “We can also support transnational access to research aircraft. We can offer flight time for users and user groups, where they don’t normally have access to such facilities in their own country. The overall objective is to broaden access to – and optimize the use of – these expensive facilities.” Trans-national access There are 43 research aircraft advertised on the EUFAR website, of which 17 are open to transnational access for researchers. Remote sensing aircraft like the CASA 212-RS typically carry airborne imaging sensors, operating at both visible
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Group photo in front of DRL’s HALO research aircraft during the 2nd EUFAR2 General Assembly meeting, at DLR, Oberpfaffenhofen (March 2015). Copyright EUFAR. and infrared wavelengths. “These instruments get used a lot for characterising soil and vegetation properties for example, as well as investigating forestry and surface water properties. They can be used for a wide
thing you typically want to do for meteorological purposes is to measure the wind speed and direction – with an aircraft that might be moving at 100 metres per second, you can imagine that is not a trivial process.”
On the FAAM
BAe-146 aircraft we have a range of instruments which are carried under the wing, for sampling atmospheric aerosol particles, and cloud precipitation particles, across a whole range of sizes range of different types of environmental science studies,” says Brown. Other aircraft are more suited to gathering atmospheric data. “They usually measure a broad range of different types of data,” continues Brown. “The UK aircraft for example, which are generally representative, have sensors to measure basic properties like temperature, humidity and static pressure. Another
This process involves combining data from several different sensors on the aircraft, including GPS, an inertial navigation system, and air speed and flow angle sensors. From these measurements researchers can build the full 3-d wind vector, while Brown says further instruments are also available on some aircraft. “For example, on the FAAM BAe-146 aircraft we have a range of instruments which are carried under the
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