Three-Dimensional UAV-Based Atmospheric Tomography

Abstract

Abstract This paper presents a method for tomographically reconstructing spatially varying three-dimensional atmospheric temperature profiles and wind velocity fields based on passive acoustic travel time measurements between a small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and ground-based microphones. A series of simulations are presented to provide an indication of the performance of the technique. The parametric fields are modeled as the weighted sum of radial basis functions (RBFs) or Fourier series, which also allow local meteorological measurements made at the UAV and ground receivers to supplement any time delay observations. The technique has potential for practical applications such as boundary layer meteorology and theories of atmospheric turbulence and wave propagation through a turbulent atmosphere.