2023 Volume 79 Issue 18 Article ID: 23-18072
We developed an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with a small electric winch that raises and lowers water quality sensors for coastal environmental surveys in very shallow water areas. The usefulness of the UAV was investigated through its application to estuarine areas with large spatial gradients of water temperature and salinity. The UAV equipped with a highly accurate sensor can measure the vertical distribution of water temperature and salinity at 13 points in the coastal waters within about 1 km of a home point in about one hour. UAV observations of water temperature and salinity agree with shipboard observations, indicating the UAV can survey water temperature and salinity distributions as an alternative to shipboard observations. For more accurate observations using the UAV, mainly in the near sea surface area, the measurement procedure should be improved by adjusting the ascent and descent speed of the sensor.
