GAIA: Grand-scale Atmospheric Imaging Apparatus – bringing together drones, holography, computer vision, PIV/PTV and LiDAR

Atmospheric flows, through their transport of airborne particles, affect many geophysical, biological, and engineering processes associated with climate, meteorology, agriculture, and geomorphology. The GAIA project (Grand-scale Atmospheric Imaging Apparatus) aims to develop advanced instruments that can provide detailed characterization of these processes in the field. Here we offer an overview of the scope of this project and the methodologies being employed, wherein we leverage image-based diagnostics, across a range of measurement scales, and integrate them with state-of-the-art UAS and computer vision technologies. Specifically, we employ digital inline holography (DIH) to measure the properties (size, morphology, compositions, etc.) of particles of different types (e.g., snow, soot, pollen), multi-view 3D tracking to measure detailed particle movements driven by flows, as well as optical flow, PTV, PIV, and scanning Doppler wind LiDAR for simultaneous characterization of atmospheric flow ranging from centimeter to kilometer scales. A key goal of this project is to deploy such imaging apparatus primarily as a drone-based system, which raises a host of challenges while also opening new opportunities to obtain field data previously inaccessible.