In
the past, drones were used primarily for military and surveillance purposes but
there have been
several technological innovations in their design and
deployment over the years. Today, drones are used in several different areas.
They are used in gathering information for research purposes, traffic
management, aerial photography, agriculture, movie production, news coverage
and so many others. They are now also being used in the planning and
forecasting of weather. This article examines various ways that weather drones can
be deployed and how it could help forestall the loss of lives and properties
through early detection mechanisms.
Climate
change and the resultant disruptions to weather conditions globally is a major
challenge and there is no better time for weather drones, which will be used
for the purpose of research, analysis and evaluation of these changes.
Drones
are already being used in various research works which help predict weather
conditions accurately. Veerabhadran Ramanathan, a researcher with the Scripps
Institute of Oceanography had previously conducted researches using larger
aircraft but found that it was a very expensive venture. He later realized that
it would be less expensive and easier to use drones for the same purpose at a
much more reduced cost. In the course of his work, he flew three unmanned
aerial vehicles (drones) over the Indian Ocean from where he and his team
gathered data which showed that black carbon was the second largest cause of
global warming.
They
are also being used to collect information which will help in making
predictions and recording weather patterns. There is really no gainsaying that
drones will play a very important role in weather research in general. Charles
Mondello, a drone expert said and I quote “the drone clearly has a value add.”
Lots
of government emergencies and weather management agencies over the past few
years have been engaging in drones. Only recently, a group of researchers in
Hunstville, Alabama are said to be planning to deploy drones to assist them get
high resolution and high frequency data of temperature to enable them assess
the factors in which storms produce tornadoes. Also, it is important to note
that since drones operate between the earth’s surface and satellites,
scientists are excited at the prospects of using them to obtain relevant
information about storms and weather patterns.
Drones
are useful and would play an integral part in weather research. The President
of the Centre for Severe Weather Research, Joshua Wurman sees drones as the
next big thing, one that could provide very valuable data for weather research.
In
2015, Oklahoma State University and several other universities entered a
research partnership with a $6 million grant from National Science Foundation
to enable them design and build a drone which will help enhance weather
forecasting. How is this expected to work? Drones would be deployed into the
areas that have been difficult to reach and very remote locations and data they
gather will be integrated into weather prediction models. The data collected
will be used in planning for the future. The drones will be expected to send
out information which helps measure wind, thermodynamic and atmospheric
chemistry parameters.
Researchers
in Colorado and Nebraska have successfully deployed drones into about 10 storms
which included 6 super storms and a lot of data were gathered on temperature
and moisture data.
There
is another area in which drones are to be deployed in the United States and
this is known as weather modification or manipulation. Tests are being
developed by a team of meteorologists in Nevada to use drones to scatter
particulates of silver iodide into the cloud system to trigger the release of
rain or snow. This would be of great benefit to curb drought issues which
farmers have experienced in recent times. Meteorologist Jeff Tilly has also developed
something similar called a cloud seeding rain generator which is to be attached
to the drones during the research. These inventions are revolutionary.
Finally,
I will examine some critical factors to consider when designing and deploying drones
for weather research and management purposes.
Some
of these include:
1. They will need to be durable to stay
strong in the face of harsh weather.
2. Fixing a black box on these drones could
provide data in the event of a crash or accident.
3. There should be regular maintenance of
the drone.
4. There is need to properly classify
drones in order to manage and regulate the ones to be used for weather
research.
5. Insurance issues need to be considered.
6. Drones and their operators need to be
licensed. Drones which fall into certain categories should be licensed.
7. Consideration should be given for an
inbuilt collision avoidance system to prevent collision in the airspace.
8. With developments in drone deployments
in several cities for weather research purposes, there is need for a crowded
skies navigation system which will help them avoid other weather drones on
similar missions.
9. Weather drones should be programmed with
a superior operating system software that will enable them perform their tasks
easily.
10. As the need for instrumentation and
safety equipment grows, weather drones will remain expensive and financing for
such expeditions will ultimately be a new source of business.
11. There is a need for new innovations in the
manufacturing of batteries that have long shelf lives. This will help keep the
drones running for long periods of time.
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