• Atmosphere
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.441-456
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• 2023

The mobile observation method, in which a meteorological drone observes while ascending, can observe the vertical profile of wind at 1 m-interval. In addition, since continuous flights are possible at time intervals of less than 30 minutes, high-resolution observation data can be obtained both spatially and temporally. In this study, we verify the accuracy of mobile observation data from meteorological drone (drone) and fill the spatio-temporal observation gaps in the lower atmosphere. To verify the accuracy of mobile observation data observed by drone, it was compared with rawinsonde observation data. The correlation coefficients between two equipment for a wind speed and direction were 0.89 and 0.91, and the root mean square errors were 0.7 m s^-1 and 20.93°. Therefore, it was judged that the drone was suitable for observing vertical profile of the wind using mobile observation method. In addition, we attempted to resolve the observation gaps in the lower atmosphere. First, the vertical observation gaps of the wind profiler between the ground and the 150 m altitude could be resolved by wind observation data using the drone. Secondly, the temporal observation gaps between 3-hour interval in the rawinsonde was resolved through a drone observation case conducted in Taean-gun, Chungcheongnam-do on October 13, 2022. In this case, the drone mobile observation data every 30-minute intervals could observe the low-level jet more detail than the rawinsonde observation data. These results show that the mobile observation data of the drone can be used to fill the spatio-temporal observation gaps in the lower atmosphere.

• Atmosphere
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.35-53
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• 2024

Under the leadership of the National Institute of Meteorological Sciences (NIMS), the first domestic autonomous flight-type weather modification experimental drone for fog and lower-level cloud seeding was developed in 2021. This drone is designed based on a multi-copter configuration with a maximum takeoff weight of approximately 25 kg, enabling the installation of up to four burning flares for seeding materials and facilitating weather observations (temperature, pressure, humidity, and wind) as well as aerosol (PM₁₀, PM_2.5, and PM_1.0) particle measurements. This research aims to introduce the construction of the drone and its recent applications over the past two years, providing insights into the experimental procedures, effectiveness verification, and improvement directions of the weather modification drone-based rain enhancement. In particular, partial confirmation of the experimental effects was obtained through the fog dissipation experiment on December 10, 2021, and the lower-level cloud seeding case study on October 5, 2022. To enhance the scope and rainfall amount of weather modification experiments using drones, various technological approaches, including adjustments to experimental altitude, seeding lines, seeding amount, and verification methods are necessary. Through this research, we aim to propose the development direction for weather modification drone technology, which will serve as foundational technology for practical application of domestic rain enhancement technology.

• Atmosphere
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.307-322
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• 2022

A drone has recently got attention as an instrument for weather observation in lower atmosphere because it can produce the high spatiotemporal resolution weather data even though the weather phenomenon is inaccessible. Sea fog is a weather phenomenon occurred in lower atmosphere, and has observational limitations because it occurs on the sea. Therefore, goal of this study is to analyze the vertical structures about inflow, development and dispersion of sea fog using the high-resolution weather data with the meteorological sensor-equipped drone. This study observed sea fogs in the west coast of the Korean peninsula from March to October 2021 and investigated one sea fog inflowed into the coast on June 8th 2021. θ_e - q_v diagrams (θ_e: equivalent potential temperature, q_v: water vapor ratio) and vertical wind structures were analyzed. At inflow of sea fog, moist adiabatically stable layer was formed in 0-300 m and prevailing wind was switched from south-southwesterly to west-southwesterly under 120 m. Both changes are favorable for sea fog on the location. θ_e and q_v plummeted in a layer 0-183 m. The inflowed sea fog developed from 183 m to 327 m by mixing with ambient atmosphere on top of sea fog. Also, strong mechanical turbulence near ground drove a vertical mixing under stable layer. At dispersion of sea fog, as θ_e on ground gradually increased, air condition was changed to neutral. Evaporation occurred on both bottom and top in sea fog. These results induced dissipation of sea fog.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.575-587
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• 2020

Meteorological phenomena are observed by the Korea Meteorological Administration in a variety of ways (e.g., surface, upper-air, marine, ocean, and aviation). However, there are limits to the meteorological observation of the planetary boundary layer (PBL) that greatly affects human life. In particular, observations using a sonde or aircraft require significant observational costs in economic terms. Therefore, the goal of this study was to measure and analyze the meteorological factors of the vertical distribution of the see-land breeze among local meteorological phenomena using meteorological drones. To investigate the spatial distribution of the see-land breeze, a same integrated meteorological sensor was mounted on each drone at three different points (seaside, bottom of mountain, and mountainside), including the Boseong tall tower (BTT) at the Boseong Standard Weather Observatory (BSWO) in the Boseong region. Vertical profile observations for air temperature, relative humidity, wind direction, wind speed, and air pressure were conducted up to 400 m every 30 minutes from 1100 LST to 1800 LST on August 4, 2018. The spatial characteristics of meteorological phenomena for temperature, relative humidity, and atmospheric pressure were not shown at the four points. Strong winds (~8 m s-1) were observed from the midpoint (~100 m) at strong solar radiation hour, and in the afternoon the wind direction changed from the upper layer at the inland area to the west wind. It is expected that the analysis results of the lower atmospheric layer observed using the meteorological drone may help to improve the weather forecast more accurately.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.27 no.11
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• pp.1155-1167
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• 2018

We developed a small sensor observation system (SSOS) at a relatively low cost to observe the atmospheric boundary layer. The accuracy of the SSOS sensor was compared with that of the automatic weather system (AWS) and meteorological tower at the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). Comparisons between SSOS sensors and KMA sensors were carried out by dividing into ground and lower atmosphere. As a result of comparing the raw data of the SSOS sensor with the raw data of AWS and the observation tower by applying the root-mean-square-error to the error, the corresponding values were within the error tolerance range (KMA meteorological reference point: humidity ${\pm}5%$, atmospheric pressure ${\pm}0.5hPa$, temperature ${\pm}0.5^{\circ}C$. In the case of humidity, even if the altitude changed, it tends to be underestimated. In the case of temperature, when the altitude rose to 40 m above the ground, the value changed from underestimation to overestimation. However, it can be confirmed that the errors are within the KMA's permissible range after correction.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.19 no.11
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• pp.12-21
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• 2019

In the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, drones have become a flexible device that can be integrated with new technologies. The drones were originally developed as military unmanned aircraft and are now being used in various fields. In the environment and weather observation area, the atmospheric boundary layer is near the surface where the atmosphere is the most active in the meteorological phenomenon and has a close influence on human activities. In order to carry out the study of these atmospheric boundary layers, it is necessary to observe precisely the lower atmosphere and secure the observation technology. The drones in the meteorological field can be used for meteorological observations at a relatively low maintenance cost compared to existing equipment. When used in conjunction with various sensors, the drones can be widely used in atmospheric boundary layer and local meteorological studies. In this study, the possibility of meteorological observations using drones was confirmed by conducting vertical meteorological (temperature and humidity) observation experiments equipped with a combined meteorological sensor and a radio sonde on drones owned by NIMS.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Surveying, Geodesy, Photogrammetry and Cartography
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.195-202
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• 2017

Ortho images created by aerial photogrammetry have been used in large areas but they are uneconomical for small areas and continuous change observation. The drones have been developed for military purposes, and recently they are being used crop management and analysis, broadcast relay, meteorological observation and disaster investigation and so on. Also there were a lot of studies of expensive commercial drone. In this paper, lower price self-assembly drone usable for in small areas, Obtained images and produced Orthomosaic and DSM using mission planner which is a normal digital camera and open source program, and postprocessing was used Pix4d software. GCP errors are X-coordinate 3.4cm, Y-coordinate 2.4cm, Z-coordinate 4.2cm. It seems like the self-assembly drone can be used for various fields.

• Atmosphere
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.433-443
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• 2021

The wind speed and wind direction in Yeongdong are one of the crucial meteorological factors for forecasting snowfall in this area. To improve the snowfall forecast in Yeongdong region, Yeongdong Extreme Snowfall-Windstorm Experiment, YES-WEX was designed. We examined the wind field variation simulated with Local Data Assimilation and Prediction System (LDAPS) using observed wind field during YES-WEX period. The simulated wind speed was overestimated over the East Sea and especially 2 to 4 times in the coastal line. The vertical wind in Yeongdong region, which is a crucial factor in the snowfall forecast, was not well simulated at the low level (850 hPa~1000 hPa) until 12 hours before the forecast. The snowfall distribution was also not accurately simulated. Three hours after the snowfall on the East Sea coast was observed, the snowfall was simulated. To improve the forecast accuracy of snowfall in Yeongdong region, it is important to understand the weather conditions using the observed and simulated data. In the future, data in the northern part of the East Sea and the mountain slope of Taebaek observed from the meteorological aircraft, ship, and drone would help in understanding the snowfall phenomenon and improving forecasts.

• Atmosphere
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.361-376
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• 2021

"Gangwon Yeongdong Wind Experiments (G-WEX) Pilot Study: Downslope windstorms in the Taebaek Mountains, South Korea" is promoted based on joint organization by Gangwon Regional Office of Meteorology and National Institute of Meteorological Research and participation by 12 institutions to understand the mechanism in development of Yeongdong wind phenomena. The special observation (G-WEX) involved total of 5 intensive observations in March 2020 and April 2020. To collect the data necessary for the research on Yeongdong wind phenomena, (1) high-resolution surface observation network was used to examine surface wind and (2) atmospheric soundings were observed by using Rawinsonde, Wind profiler, Wind Lidar, and Drone. This study covers the detailed information on the special observational experiments for downslope windstorms in the leeward of the Taebaek Mountains, named as the Yeongdong wind, including the observational strategies, experimental designs, and pilot studies during the Intensified Observing Period (IOPs). According to 2020 G-WEX observation results, downslope windstorms were observed in 2~3 km of upper atmosphere when the strong winds happened around the top of the mountain near Daegwallyeong. Also, dry adiabatic expansion related to downslope windstorms caused temperature rise and led to formation of an inversion layer in altitude below 2.5 km. Bands of strong wind were located right under the altitude where downslope windstorms are observed with temporal rise of the temperature. As these are preliminary observation results, there needs to be continuous related researches and high-resolution weather observation.

• Smart Media Journal
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.44-51
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• 2018

The purpose of this research is to collect atmospheric environmental information at specific altitudes in a range of 0 to 1 km above the surface and to monitor it using drones. The corresponding temperature and humidity were measured with the meteorological factors, and the amounts of fine dust and $CO_2$ were observed by the environmental factors so that they could receive the normal values. Monitoring the status of atmospheric gas emission in specific enterprises, industrial complexes and regions through the measurement is meant to help establish policies to reduce pollution factors. In conventional means previously practiced, exhaust gas detection accompanies a great deal of risks in terms of safety because the surveyor is directly exposed to the source of contamination such as the holes installed in the chimney. However, in our proposed method, the drone can collect information in a wide range under safe circumstances, which can be utilized through wide industrial areas.