As part of a Design-Build-Test course, five engineering students are building a albedometer sensor system for the new drone in the Lab. The albedometer will consist of two MS-80U pyranometers from EKO instruments and a lidar unit (LIDAR Lite v3) from Garmin.
Albedometers are mostly used to measure the reflectance of earths surface, using two pyranometers: one facing up towards the sky and one facing down towards the surface. From the ratio of incoming and reflecting radiation the albedo can be calculated. Albedo is often used in different climate models but is usually measured using a fixed sensor or a mobile sensor attached on a pole carried over the surface of interest. With a drone borne albedometer we can collect data over forests and other vegetation types without walking in it and also cover larger areas.
The project will be finished in mid January 2020.