Applicability analysis of multi-rotor UAV to detect meteorological elements in the near-surface layer over the Tibetan plateau

Tibetan Plateau, known as the third pole of the Earth, has an important impact on the atmospheric circulation and weather in East Asia. The detection of meteorological elements in the near-surface layer of the area is of great significance for the in-depth study of the meteorological mechanism of the boundary layer. In this paper, we used multi-rotor UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) combined with conventional observations to independently design a measurement platform with various sensors, data storage and transmission components, measuring conventional meteorological parameters, and temperature structure constants (Ct2 ). The suitability analysis of the platform was carried out through drone sonde and kite-balloon sonde experiments in Lhasa area (91°08′07′′E, 29°39′36′′N). Comparative analysis of two kinds of data shows that 403MHz wireless transmission adopted by the two methods is stable, and two sounding results of temperature, air pressure and Ct2 have good consistency between each other, with acceptable normal ranges of error. This work provides a new boundary layer detection method, and also has positive significance for scientific research work in meteorology and environmental monitoring.