Data Acquisition and Logging System for a Drone-mounted Atmospheric Sensor Suite

Performance assessment and improvement of weather forecasting models in complex terrain is critically dependent on the availability of spatially distributed, high resolution vertical profile data of the planetary boundary layer. Traditional atmospheric data sources such as weather balloons and dropsondes can be expensive and labor intensive, while fixed location sources such as wind profilers and microwave radiometers cannot easily be moved to different points of interest. The TriSonica Mini (TSM), developed and sold by Anemoment (Longmont, CO, USA), is a research-grade integrated atmospheric sensor system that samples a range of parameters at high resolution including temperature, humidity, pressure, wind speed and wind direction. Being compact and lightweight, the TSM is ideal for deployment on a mobile platform such as a drone. However, the TSM does not come with data storage or transmission capability. We present an embedded design for a data acquisition and logger system that allows for data to be stored during flight. The low-cost design employs a Raspberry Pi 4 B+ with an RS232 shifter and SD card. System test flights have demonstrated that the system is reliably easy to deploy, use and maintain. The solution allows student and faculty researchers to acquire high resolution surface and boundary layer data (up to 120 meters) in support of atmospheric chemistry and physics research and modeling. Future versions of the system will enable experiential learning projects for students in Appalachian State University’s Applied Physics and Engineering Physics programs for years to come.