UAV Operation, Crash Analysis, and Measurement of Particle Concentrations above a Forest and Surrounding Farmland

The Nucleation In ForesTs (NIFTY) campaign was conducted in the Morgan Monroe State Forest (MMSF) during the month of May 2008. The objectives of this campaign were to understand the principal mechanisms of nucleation, the limitations of nucleation and growth, the spatial extent of nucleation events, subsequent particle growth after nucleation in MMSF, and the link between particle nucleation and breakdown of the nocturnal boundary layer which enhances vertical mixing. This paper discusses the use of a UAV to perform selected aspects of this project, mission that was accomplished by a team of students during the campaign, and analysis of a crash which concluded the mission.