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

<b>Abstract</b><br/><p>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. The wind, sUAS-trajectory, and concentration was measured for each flight. </p>