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

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.