A bird's-eye view: Development of an operational ARM unmanned aerial capability for atmospheric research in arctic Alaska

UAS and TBS operations at Oliktok Point, Alaska, have laid the groundwork for extended and semiroutine operations of such vehicles by the DOE ARM program. This paper provided an overview of these activities, along with insights into obstacles overcome and initial science achieved. While measurements from these initial activities are just beginning to be analyzed, these observations demonstrate the value of the new perspectives offered by these platforms, including information on spatial variability and vertical structure, and over difficult-to-sample surfaces such as newly forming sea ice and partially frozen tundra. Over the next few years, the measurements obtained, and those to be collected in the near future, will continue to be analyzed and used for model and remote sensing retrieval development and for the production of scientific understanding. Some such studies are currently being prepared for publication, offering new insights into atmospheric thermodynamic structure, aerosol processes, cloud macro- and microphysics, and turbulent and radiative energy fluxes at high latitudes. Information gained on the efficient use of unmanned platforms in the Arctic will benefit future missions, while scientific insight from such activities will continue, providing a valuable complement to measurements obtained from ARM's surface-based sensors and those provided by crewed research aircraft and satellites.