2018 methane emission quantification controlled release test at the Merced Vernal Pools and Grassland Reserve with sUAS

Abstract

Environmental sensing using small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) has become more and more desirable due to the spatial temporal resolution and frequency of sampling. A methane controlled release campaign was conducted at the Merced Vernal Pools and Grassland Reserve for the purpose of testing the quantification performance of a sUAS-based methane measurement system using an open path laser spectrometer (OPLS). A single emission source was simulated, and mutiple flights were conducted downwind of the source to measure the emission using a mass-balance method.