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PI: Ralph Lorenz
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Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab
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Intelligent Sensor Network Study of Dust Devils
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| We propose to perform a novel field study of terrestrial dust devils in Arizona using initially an array, evolving into an intelligent network, of smart sensor platforms. Dust devils are a dynamic feature of the Martian environment, playing an important part in climate via dust loading, and can significantly affect surface operations by sweeping dust off solar panels as well as possible electrostatic discharge effects. Even on Earth, dust devils are implicated in ~100 light aviation accidents in the last 15 years and thus can be considered a genuine hazard. A systematic study, which without the application of intelligent systems would be a labor-intensive effort, is therefore suggested. An array of rapid-sampling sensor platforms can generate datasets on the formation, structure and evolution of dust devils that can be compared with mesoscale numerical models. After initial data acquisition, algorithms will be developed by which the field network can autonomously identify the presence of dust devils and generate reports. Intelligent sensing yields orders of magnitude reduction in data volume. |
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