Development of a measurement platform on a light airplane and analysis of airborne measurements in the atmospheric boundary layer

In the present paper we provide an overview of a long term research project aimed at setting up a suitable platform for measurements in the atmospheric boundary layer on a light airplane along with some preliminary results obtained from field campaigns at selected sites. Measurements of air pressure, temperature and relative humidity have been performed in various Alpine valleys up to a height of about 2500 m a.m.s.l. By means of GPS resources and specific post-processing procedures careful positioning of measurement points within the explored domain has been achieved. The analysis of collected data allowed detailed investigation of atmospheric vertical structures and dynamics typical of valley environment, such as morning transition from ground based inversion to fully developed well mixed convective boundary layer. Based on data collected along flights, 3D fields of the explored variables have been detected and identified through application of geostatistical techniques (Kriging). The adopted procedures allowed evaluation of the intrinsic statistical structure of the spatial distribution of measured quantities and the estimate of the values of the same variable at unexplored locations by suitable weighted average of data recorded at close locations. Results thus obtained are presented and discussed.