Search

The National Airspace System (NAS) is a sophisticated network of air traffic control, navigation, and communication systems that play a critical role in ensuring the safe and efficient flow of air traffic across the United States. However, the occurrence of severe weather conditions, particularly hailstorms, poses a significant threat to flight safety within the NAS. To mitigate the risks associated with hail, aviation organizations have implemented a range of safety measures. This study utilized Esri's ArcGIS as a mapping software to conduct a geospatial analysis of the impact of severe weather, particularly hail, on the NAS. The Hail Awareness Spatial Analysis Toolkit (HASAT), developed as part of this research, leveraged Machine Learning (ML) as a forecasting method to predict the occurrence of severe hail events. The results of the analysis revealed that states such as Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska emerged as the epicenter of these hailstorms. The Hail Awareness Spatial Analysis Toolkit (HASAT) possessed an additional capability to provide localized hail data to pilots, empowering aviation operators with critical information for flight safety. By incorporating this tool into existing systems, pilots can access real-time, location-specific hail data, enabling them to make informed choices regarding flight routes and potential hazards associated with hailstorms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ozone is a pollutant formed in the atmosphere by photochemical processes involving nitrogen oxides (NO x) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) when exposed to sunlight. Tropospheric boundary layer ozone is regularly measured at ground stations and sampled infrequently through balloon, lidar, and crewed aircraft platforms, which have demonstrated characteristic patterns with altitude. Here, to better resolve vertical profiles of ozone within the atmospheric boundary layer, we developed and evaluated an uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) platform for measuring ozone and meteorological parameters of temperature, pressure, and humidity. To evaluate this approach, a UAS was flown with a portable ozone monitor and a meteorological temperature and humidity sensor to compare to tall tower measurements in northern Wisconsin. In June 2020, as a part of the WiscoDISCO20 campaign, a DJI M600 hexacopter UAS was flown with the same sensors to measure Lake Michigan shoreline ozone concentrations. This latter UAS experiment revealed a low-altitude structure in ozone concentrations in a shoreline environment showing the highest ozone at altitudes from 20–100 m a.g.l. These first such measurements of low-altitude ozone via a UAS in the Great Lakes region revealed a very shallow layer of ozone-rich air lying above the surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ozone is a pollutant formed in the atmosphere by photochemical processes involving nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) when exposed to sunlight. Tropospheric boundary layer ozone is regularly measured at ground stations and sampled infrequently through balloon, lidar, and crewed aircraft platforms, which have demonstrated characteristic patterns with altitude. Here, to better resolve vertical profiles of ozone within the atmospheric boundary layer, we developed and evaluated an uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) platform for measuring ozone and meteorological parameters of temperature, pressure, and humidity. To evaluate this approach, an UAS was flown with a portable ozone monitor and a meteorological temperature and humidity sensor to compare to tall tower measurements in northern Wisconsin. In June 2020, as a part of the WiscoDISCO20 campaign, a DJI M600 hexacopter UAS was flown with the same sensors to measure Lake Michigan shoreline ozone concentrations. This latter UAS experiment revealed low-altitude structure in ozone concentrations in a shoreline environment showing highest ozone at altitudes from 20-100 mAGL. These first such measurements of lowaltitude ozone via UAS in the Great Lakes Region revealed a very shallow layer of ozone rich air lying above the surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the benefits of combining field-based learning within the context of a competitive setting in the geography curriculum. Findings and data are presented based on experiences gathered from teaching an upper-level university geography course that combined geographic techniques and theory into a game of capture-the-flag. Students analyzed a variety of geospatial data sources, using ArcMap Geographic Information System software, to prepare a series of maps for the game. Students reported a first-time understanding of many geographic skills that were previously ambiguous to them when the material was presented in a different format, such as lectures and labs. (Contains 1 figure.)

Students in a graduate seminar at Michigan State University produced a series of detailed vegetation, soils, and landform maps of a 1.5-square-mile (3.9 [km.sup.2]) study area in southwest Lower Michigan. The learning outcomes (maps) and skill development objectives (sampling strategies and various GIS applications) of this field-intensive mapping experience were driven by the assumption that students learn and understand relationships among physical landscape variables better by mapping them than they would in a classroom-based experience. The group-based, problem-solving format was also intended to foster collaboration and camaraderie. The study area lies within a complex, interlobate moraine. Fieldwork involved mapping in groups of two or three, as well as soil and vegetation sampling. Spatial data products assembled and used in the project included topographic maps, a digital elevation model (DEM), aerial photographs, and NRCS (National Resource Conservation Service) soil maps. Most of the soils are dry and sandy, with the main differentiating characteristic being the amount of, and depth to, subsurface clay bands (lamellae) or gravelly zones. The presettlement (early 1830s) vegetation of the area was oak forest, oak savanna, and black oak 'barrens.' Upland sites currently support closed forests of white, black, and red oak, with a red maple, dogwood, and sassafras understory. Ecological data suggest that these oak forests will, barring major disturbance, become increasingly dominated by red maple. This group-based, problem-solving approach to physical geography education has several advantages over traditional classroom-based teaching and could also be successfully applied in other, field-related disciplines. Key Words: pedagogy, fieldwork, mapping, problem-based learning, vegetation.

The meso-scale meteorology of lake breezes along Lake Michigan impacts local observations of high ozone events. Previous manned aircraft and UAS observations have demonstrated non-uniform ozone concentrations within and above the marine layer over water and within shoreline environments. During the 2021 Wisconsin's Dynamic Influence of Shoreline Circulations on Ozone (WiscoDISCO-21) campaign, two UAS platforms, a fixed-wing (University of Colorado RAAVEN) and a multirotor (Purdue University DJI M210), were used simultaneously to capture lake breeze during forecasted high ozone events at Chiwaukee Prairie State Natural Area in southeastern Wisconsin from May 21-26, 2021. The RAAVEN platform (data DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.5142491) measured temperature, humidity, and 3-D winds during 2-hour flights following two separate flight patterns up to 3 times per day at altitudes reaching 500 m above ground level. The M210 platform (data DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.5160346) measured vertical profiles of temperature, humidity and ozone during 15-minute flights up to 6 times per day at altitudes reaching 120 m above ground level (AGL) near to a WI-DNR ground monitoring station (AIRS ID: 55-059-0019). This campaign was conducted in conjunction with the Enhanced Ozone Monitoring plan from WI-DNR that included Doppler lidar wind profiler observations at the site (data DOI:10.5281/zenodo.5213039). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]