DRI innovates research with airborne platforms. Applications include multispectral monitoring for climate change, land management, atmospheric cloud physics, field soil stability and spectral measurements with infrared images, wildfire monitoring and data visualization, and advanced cloud seeding technologies.

1. Lynn Fenstermaker and Adam Watts, Desert Research Institute (DRI)

3. Large T-Probe: designed and fabricatd by J.
Hallett and R. Purcell (DRI)
- Simultaneously measures cloud liquid, ice
and total water
- Currently mounted on manned NSF aircraft
- Fabricating smaller probe for UAS platform
Photoacoustic instrument: designed by P.
Arnott (DRI/UNR)
- Measures aerosol light absorption and
scattering, which is impacted by air
pollution
- 4 patents and commercialization of 3
versions partnering with Droplet
Measurement Technology

5. Mojave Global Change Facility
96 plots with factorial
treatments of increased
summer precipitation, nitrogen
deposition and soil crust
disturbance
Needed an efficient way to
monitor whole plot treatment
effect, so we developed a UAS
platform with multispectral
camera

6. Assessing Climate Change Treatment Effects with a Radio Control
Helicopter Multispectral Platform
Dr. Lynn Fenstermaker, Desert Research Institute ▪ Eric Knight, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
UAS Platform: Class I, radio control helicopter, 55.7” length
Sensor Package: Tetracam multispectral camera simulating green, red
and IR Landsat bands and real time altimeter with
engine and battery monitoring
Multispectral CIR photoStandard color digital photo

7. Treatment
I = irrigated, NI = not irrigated
0 kg ha-1
Nitrogen, 10 kg ha-1
Nitrogen, 40 kg ha-1
Nitrogen
D = disturbed, ND = not disturbed
I-0-D
I-0-ND
I-10-D
I-10-ND
I-40-D
I-40-ND
NI-0-D
NI-0-ND
NI-10-D
NI-10-ND
NI-40-D
NI-40-ND
%GreenCover
0
5
10
15
20
25

8. Desert Research Institute
Kenneth McGwire
Lynn Fenstermaker
David McGraw
USDA Agricultural Research Service
Mark Weltz
Christo Morris
Julie Finzell
Federal land management agencies like the USFS, BLM and the NRCS
rely heavily on field measurements to monitor the health and
productivity of millions of acres.
UAS technology can support more efficient and
comprehensive landscape characterization to meet those missions.

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UAS color infrared imagery used to
measure leaf area in cattle
allotments and set stocking rates.
The very high spatial resolution of
UAS imagery helps improve models
for soil erosion and ecosystem
function.
Graph shows UAS sampling improves
statistical confidence over field and
satellite observations and with a
significantly smaller number of
observation points.
Feasibility Testing Results

10. Moisture dynamics in the cloudy and polluted tropical
atmosphere: The Cloud Aerosol Radiative Forcing Dynamics
Experiment (CARDEX)
Eric Wilcox, DRI, eric.wilcox@dri.edu, 775-673-7686
Rick Thomas, P. S. Praveen, Kristina Pistone, V. Ramanathan, Lynne Russell,
Scripps/UCSD
Frida Bender, Örjan Gustaffson , Stockholm University
Yan Feng, Argonne National Laboratory
Nic Beres, Hans Moosmüller, Rajan Chackrabarty, DRI
Julia Remmers, Steffen Doener, Max Planck Institute, Mainz

11. Cloud physics aircraft
measures cloud drop
sizes and concentration.
Flux aircraft measures
high-frequency
variations of vertical
velocity, temperature,
and humidity.
Aerosol/radiation aircraft measures
aerosol particle concentration, black
carbon concentration and up/down
solar fluxes.

13. CARDEX Aerosol Concentration Vertical Profile

14. New: Assessment of Biological Soil Crust
and Impact on Soil Stability
Collaborative Project: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and DRI
 Sample collection and
measurements of BSC
polysaccharide content
 Field soil stability and spectral
measurements
 sUAS (eBee, fixed wing)
acquisition of high resolution
color and near infrared
images.
 Compare spectra and images
with field and lab data

15. eBee Images Acquired
March and April 2015

17. •1st phase: fabricate miniaturized
ejectable flare technology (DONE)
•Select UAS Platform: DA Savant
(DONE)
•Test Flights with flares (DONE)
•Test Flights to eject flares (DONE)
•Future Test Flights under realistic
cloud seeding conditions
•Wing icing
•Swarm flights
•BLOS

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20. RGB, NIR and Thermal Imaging Cameras
Color DEM Veg + DEM

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